Construction begins on $3bn green-hydrogen-to-aviation-fuel plant in northeast China

State-owned China Energy Engineering Group aims to eventually produce 200,000 tonnes of methanol and 300,000 tonnes of eSAF a year in project involving wind, solar, electrolysers and biomass

Celebratory coloured smoke hangs in the air at the project's groundbreaking ceremony in the Shuangyashang Economic and Technological Development Zone, Heilongjiang province, on Tuesday.Photo: Xinhua

Construction has begun on the first phase of a huge project in northeast China that will use wind and solar power to produce green hydrogen that will be converted into methanol and synthetic aviation fuel (eSAF).

A unit of the state-owned China Energy Engineering Group (also known as Energy China) aims to produce 100,000 tonnes of eSAF a year from 2027 from the 6bn-yuan ($843m) first phase, which will combine 450MW of wind power with unspecified quantities of electrolysers, solar panels and biomass gasification.

Gasifying biomass means heating it to high temperatures without combustion, which turns most of the plant matter into hydrogen and carbon dioxide — which can be combined to produce synthetic aviation fuel via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. (The two gases can also be combined to produce methanol in a catalytic-driven process).

By sourcing the CO₂ needed to produce methanol and eSAF from biomass — which contains carbon dioxide absorbed from the air as the plant matter grew — the resulting eSAF can be considered to be carbon-neutral.

The project, near the city of Shuangyashan, Heilongjiang province, is described by the provincial government as the “the world's first 100,000-tonne-class wind-solar-hydrogen biomass green aviation fuel demonstration project”, adding that it “employs several globally leading technologies, including advanced green Fischer-Tropsch synthesis aviation fuel technology, full-system collaborative coupling and control mechanisms, off-grid technology friendly to multiple energy storage modes, and integrated electro-hydrogen-carbon industrial technology”.

The full project is planned to produce 200,000 tonnes of green methanol and 300,000 tonnes of green aviation fuel annually, at a cost of 20.8bn yuan ($3bn), although a completion date has not been announced.

Representatives from the state-owned Shanghai Airport Authority, also known as Avinex — which operates the two international airports serving the city — were present at the groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, suggesting that it could be an offtaker for the eSAF.