Shared hydrogen pipeline infrastructure for renewable ammonia production in Inner Mongolia

Numerous projects for renewable ammonia production are under development in Inner Mongolia, including projects by Envision and Mintal Hydrogen. These projects are based on variable renewables such as solar PV and wind, and distributed throughout the region. From the details available about these projects, we know that flexibility in the ammonia synthesis loop will allow for some load following, but that hydrogen storage buffers will still be required. Recently, the Energy Bureau of Inner Mongolia has released plans for a common hydrogen pipeline infrastructure linking announced projects. Long distance hydrogen pipeline infrastructure will help level out local fluctuations in solar PV and especially wind electricity, and thereby hydrogen production. This can result in a higher overall operational load for the ammonia plants.

On November 22nd 2024, the Energy Bureau of Inner Mongolia released a guidance document for the construction of eight new hydrogen transportation pipelines, consisting of a main line, two cycle lines, and five branch lines. The main line will connect Ordos in Mid-West Inner Mongolia and Chifeng in East Inner Mongolia, and is estimated to be at least 800 km long. Two cycle lines will be constructed around Ordos and Chifeng, while five branch lines will connect other industrial areas. Inter-province pipelines connecting Inner Mongolia with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Liaoning, Shaanxi, and Ningxia are also proposed. Booster stations and large-scale hydrogen storage facilities will also be built along the hydrogen pipelines.

In early 2024, PetroChina also announced the construction of a 736.5 kilometer hydrogen pipeline in nearby Hebei Province. This pipeline is expected to be completed by June 2027. This pipeline will start in Kangao county, Zhangjiakou city (close to Inner Mongolia), and will end at Caofeidian Industrial Zone in Tangshan city, which has a significant iron and steel industry with 16 million tons produced in 2023. The hydrogen can be utilized for DRI (direct reduction of Iron). Potentially, this pipeline will be tied up with the Inner Mongolia network, although this has not been reported so far. The pipeline will have a diameter of 61 cm and a pressure of 63 bar.

Meanwhile, the first long distance hybrid hydrogen pipeline (249 kilometers, 10% hydrogen blended with 90% gas) began operations between Baotou and Linhe in Inner Mongolia last November.

While Inner Mongolia has some of the best global potential for renewable ammonia production, current ammonia production and conversion to other products is mainly located in other Chinese provinces. It should be noted that most of the current ammonia production capacity in China is based on coal gasification with an estimated carbon footprint of at least 4 tons CO2 emitted per ton ammonia, therefore switching to lower-emission production pathways would lead to significant decarbonization outcomes. A national plan released last October to use ammonia in coal co-firing could lead to a demand for tens (and even hundreds) of million tons of ammonia fuel per year, if applied across China’s existing coal power plant fleet.

So how would ammonia be transported from Inner Mongolia to demand centers? A potential option is pipeline transport. Long distance ammonia pipelines were previously constructed in Mexico, between Russia and Ukraine, and in the United States.

In terms of ammonia exports, such a pipeline already has multiple potential destinations on China’s coast. Envision is developing an ammonia export terminal in Jinzhou, for export from its renewable ammonia project in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. Various ammonia terminals already exist along the Chinese East coast.