Jiuquan has been officially approved as a national pilot city for comprehensive hydrogen energy application, positioning its hydrogen sector within the national strategic framework and injecting significant momentum into regional green development.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission have jointly issued a notice approving the launch of the national hydrogen energy comprehensive application pilot. Jiuquan has been successfully included in the "Xinjiang-Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone" hydrogen energy application cluster, making it the only city (prefecture) in Gansu Province to receive this national designation. This milestone elevates the city's hydrogen industry to the national strategic level, providing strong impetus for cultivating new productive forces, advancing the energy revolution, achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, and driving high-quality green development.
The pilot program will run for four years, with Jiuquan focusing on core areas such as green ammonia and methanol production and hydrogen-powered transportation. The city plans to attract a series of benchmark projects characterized by substantial investment, strong demonstration effects, and replicable models. In the green ammonia and methanol sector, renewable electricity from wind and solar will be converted into storable, transportable, and consumable green chemical products and fuels, including methanol, synthetic ammonia, and sustainable aviation fuel. These efforts aim to advance the large-scale, industrialized development of green ammonia and methanol, supporting the construction of a supply base that couples wind and solar resources with biomass, thereby establishing a complete value chain from green electricity to green hydrogen to green chemical products.
In the hydrogen transportation sector, Jiuquan will leverage its position as a core hub on the western land-sea corridor to plan a cross-provincial hydrogen corridor linking Hami in Xinjiang, Jiuquan in Gansu, and the Sichuan-Chongqing region. The city will vigorously promote the adoption of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks, precisely serving scenarios such as coal transportation from Xinjiang and heavy-load freight logistics. Simultaneously, it will advance the construction of hydrogen refueling stations and hydrogen transmission pipelines along the Hexi Corridor, continuously improving the regional hydrogen distribution network. These measures aim to solidify the Hexi Corridor's role as a comprehensive intermodal transport hub and create a model hydrogen heavy-load transportation route for Northwest China.
In the area of hydrogen-based chemical feedstock substitution, the focus will be on promoting the large-scale replacement of hydrogen in key consuming industries such as petroleum refining, coal chemical engineering, green fuel production, and fine chemicals. This is intended to accelerate the transformation of traditional chemical industries toward greener, lower-carbon, and higher-value operations. In the hydrogen blending and combustion sector, renewable hydrogen will be used as a high-quality heat source blended directly into natural gas pipelines. The city will also explore the application of pure hydrogen kiln technology in quartz building materials, optimizing the gas source structure for industrial and urban use while enhancing supply resilience.
Finally, in the innovation application arena, Jiuquan will capitalize on its full-chain hydrogen synergy, leveraging its aerospace industry, transportation needs, and diversified energy demands. Innovative applications will be developed in areas such as aerospace fuel, hydrogen-powered rail locomotives, mining trucks, unmanned aerial vehicles, combined heat and power supply, and hydrogen storage for power generation. The city aims to establish itself as a demonstration hub for hydrogen innovation with rich application scenarios and diverse business models.