Chinese developer launches $1.6bn green-hydrogen-based e-SAF project with 2GW of wind power

[u/FewUnderstanding5221]

Dongde Energy says the Xinjiang plant will produce 100,000 tonnes of ‘carbon-negative’ synthetic aviation fuel annually.
Chinese developer Dongde Energy has unveiled its 11bn-yuan ($1.64bn) e-SAF project in Xinjiang, northwest China, which it says will produce 100,000 tonnes of “carbon-negative” synthetic aviation fuel annually from green hydrogen and captured CO2.

The project, in Yiwu County in Xinjiang’s Hami region, would produce 50,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year, supported by 2GW of wind power, and utilise 400,000 tonnes of CO2 — while drawing on the developer’s experience with smaller pilot e-SAF projects.

https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/production/chinese-developer-launches-1-6bn-green-hydrogen-based-e-saf-project-with-2gw-of-wind-power/2-1-2050403

[u/azrielTech]

I’d be curious what capacity factor they assume for the electrolyzers. That could make a big difference to how much hydrogen the wind supply can produce through the year.

[u/FewUnderstanding5221]

From article:

Chinese developer Dongde Energy has unveiled its 11bn-yuan ($1.64bn) e-SAF project in Xinjiang, northwest China, which it says will produce 100,000 tonnes of “carbon-negative” synthetic aviation fuel annually from green hydrogen and captured CO2.

The project, in Yiwu County in Xinjiang’s Hami region, would produce 50,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year, supported by 2GW of wind power, and utilise 400,000 tonnes of CO2 — while drawing on the developer’s experience with smaller pilot e-SAF projects.

Dongde has not revealed the capacity of the electrolysers required at the project, although the 50,000 tonnes figure suggests that somewhere in the region of 400-500MW would be required, depending on their efficiency and annual operating hours.

And while the developer describes the project as “carbon-negative”, it has offered no evidence to support that assertion, which would imply that the overall process results in a net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. No permanent carbon-storage or other carbon-removal element has been disclosed, and Dongde has not confirmed the precise source of its CO2.

According to Dongde Energy (Xinjiang) general manager Xie Menghao, the e-SAF technology proposed for the project has already been tested at smaller scales.

A 1,000-tonnes-a-year-scale pilot in Meishan, Sichuan province, is up and running, with an expert panel recently describing the technology as “internationally leading”, he said, adding that a larger 10,000-tonnes-a-year-scale demonstration project in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, began commissioning earlier this month.

Tender documents published in late August show that Dongde has sought consultants to prepare a feasibility study for the chemical portion of the integrated project — covering hydrogen production and storage; CO2 capture and purification; e-SAF synthesis, storage and transportation; as well as comparisons of different aviation-fuel production routes.

The feasibility study bids were opened publicly as part of the launch ceremony — a procedural requirement under China’s Tendering and Bidding Law — and a separate tender has been issued for a feasibility study into the project's supporting renewable-electricity system.

Dongde is not the only developer pursuing large-scale e-SAF production in China.

For instance, Inner Mongolia Jiutai Group is developing a 100,000-tonnes-a-year methanol-to-jet plant using Honeywell technology, while state-owned SPIC is planning a much larger hydrogen-based energy complex in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province, ultimately capable of producing 400,000 tonnes of green aviation fuel and 400,000 tonnes of green methanol annually, supported by 3.5GW of off-grid wind power.

Dongde has not announced a construction timetable for its Yiwu facility, nor a final investment decision or expected start-up date.

[u/Mannerheim_Line]

The Tesla cult will be furious cause they are in bed with Big Oil.

[u/Mannerheim_Line]

Imagine that a country can produce its own fuel regardless whether it has deposites of oil. It's like an absolute independence. Hydrogen is freedom, independence and peace.