The wind blows over and over the grasslands of Damao Banner, with rows of fans running day and night. A few years ago, electricity here often couldn't be delivered and could only be wasted in the wind; Nowadays, these electricity sources have a new destination - they are sent to electrolytic cells at hydrogen stations, where water molecules are disassembled into tanks of green hydrogen that can be stored and transported far away.

A large order worth 1.7 billion yuan has been settled

Recently, the China Tendering and Bidding Public Service Platform released the announcement of the winning bid results for the PC construction general contracting of the 1 million kilowatt wind solar hydrogen integration project in Damao Banner, Inner Mongolia. China Huadian Engineering Co., Ltd. won the bid for the first section, with a bid amount of 501 million yuan; CEEC Tianjin Electric Power Construction won the bid for the second section with a bid amount of 1.205 billion yuan, mainly responsible for the construction of 383 MW wind and solar power projects, hydrogen production stations, and 220 kV main substation. The total cost of the two sections is about 1.705 billion yuan, and the project is planned to be put into operation as a whole in August 2027.

This is currently the largest single green hydrogen project under construction in China, with a total investment of approximately 6.765 billion yuan. The bidder is Inner Mongolia Huadian Huayang Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd., established in December 2024, registered in Baotou City, Inner Mongolia, and affiliated with Huadian New Energy Group Co., Ltd. (SH: 600930). The company's business scope covers energy storage technology services, power generation technology services, wind power generation technology services, solar power generation technology services, and carbon reduction technology research and development.

How to produce hydrogen on the grassland

The project is located in Damao Banner, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia, and is taking the path of integrated wind solar hydrogen storage. The first phase of new energy power generation plans to construct 1 million kilowatts, including 700 megawatts of wind power and 300 megawatts of photovoltaic power. It will also be equipped with one 100 megawatt/200 megawatt hour lithium iron phosphate battery energy storage power station, two 220 kV booster stations, as well as facilities such as access roads and collection lines. The volatility of scenery is shared and digested by energy storage and electrolytic cells.

83 units of 1000 standard cubic meters per hour, 1 unit of 2000 standard cubic meters per hour, and 1 unit of 3000 standard cubic meters per hour alkaline electrolysis cell hydrogen production system will be planned and constructed in the hydrogen production process, with an annual production capacity of 47000 tons of hydrogen; In terms of hydrogen storage, 25 sets of 2000 cubic meter hydrogen balloon tanks with a hydrogen storage capacity of 650000 standard cubic meters will be equipped, and a 220 kV hydrogen production substation and other facilities and equipment will be built.

The Eastward Road of Green Hydrogen

To produce hydrogen, it needs to be transported and used. China's high-quality scenic resources are concentrated in the Three North regions, while major hydrogen users such as steel, refining, and chemical industries are clustered in the east. The mismatch between the lack of resources in the east and the lack of scenarios in the west is an unavoidable issue for the large-scale development of green hydrogen. The Damaoqi project is an important part of the West East Hydrogen Transmission Strategy, and in the future, it will be transported to developed industrial areas in the east through a green hydrogen pipeline network, alleviating the supply gap of green hydrogen in the east.

As a reference, China's first cross provincial, large-scale, long-distance pure hydrogen transmission pipeline - the Ulanqab to Beijing Tianjin Hebei hydrogen transmission pipeline, with a total length of about 1132 kilometers and a design pressure of 6.3 megapascals, will transport 100000 tons/year of hydrogen in the first phase and 500000 tons/year in the long term. After completion, it will supply green hydrogen to Xiong'an New Area, Shijiazhuang Refinery, Tianjin Petrochemical, Yanshan Petrochemical, etc; The cost of transporting hydrogen through pipelines is relatively long, and trailer trucks can reduce it by about 80-90%. The local consumption channels are also being opened up. After the completion of the 195 kilometer hydrogen pipeline from Damao Banner to Baotou City, the transportation cost of green hydrogen is expected to decrease from 13 yuan/kg for vehicle transportation to below 3 yuan/kg.

The cost side is also loosening. The average bid price for mainstream 1000 standard alkaline electrolysis cells has decreased from about 10 million yuan/set in 2021 to 6.5 million yuan/set in 2024, and some tenders in 2025 have dropped to 2.54 million to 2.85 million yuan/set. As of June 2026, the scale of renewable energy hydrogen production built and under construction in China has exceeded 1.4 million tons per year.keywords:New energy information network

From a 200000 kW demonstration project producing 7800 tons of green hydrogen with a purity of over 99.999% per year, to a million kW base producing 47000 tons per year, the grasslands of Damao Banner are turning wind into hydrogen. With the completion of the construction general contracting, this giant hydrogen production machine has officially entered the installation countdown.Editor/Yang Meiling