China's First Underground Hydrogen Storage Well Station Surpasses 400 Tons in Cumulative Hydrogen Supply

"From entry security check and electrostatic discharge to filling up with 12 kg of hydrogen, the whole process takes only 10 minutes," said Hu Gang, a driver who had just refueled his Qingling hydrogen-powered logistics vehicle at the Banshan Huandao Hydrogen Station on Longmenzhen Avenue in Jiulongpo District, Chongqing, on the morning of November 26. "At 25 yuan per kilogram, a full tank allows me to drive about 550 kilometers. It's both economical and convenient!"

Visiting the station that day, reporters saw only tidy hydrogen dispensers and busy vehicles on the surface, while the station's core storage equipment—a 45MPa high-pressure hydrogen storage well—was innovatively buried vertically underground. This "underground hydrogen warehouse" operates at a high pressure of 45 megapascals, has a designed service life of 25 years, and represents a world-first underground hydrogen storage technology with complete independent intellectual property rights. As China's first hydrogen station to successfully apply the 45MPa high-pressure hydrogen storage well technology, it has now operated safely and stably for 1,500 days, with cumulative hydrogen supply exceeding 400 tons. This milestone signifies a major breakthrough for China in high-pressure underground hydrogen storage technology and its commercial operation.

"The 'underground hydrogen warehouse' solves the hydrogen storage challenges faced in mountainous cities," said Zhou Jianbo, manager of the China Petroleum Chongqing Jiangnan Petroleum Banshan Huandao Station. Compared to traditional above-ground hydrogen storage equipment, this high-pressure storage well technology saves approximately two-thirds of the land area. Given Chongqing's steep terrain and limited available land, the technology successfully addresses the land-use bottlenecks in building hydrogen infrastructure for mountainous cities, offering a new solution for similar regions across China. Currently, the technology has obtained 3 national patents and has been included in the 2024 Chongqing Catalog of Major Technological Equipment for Promotion and Application.

The Banshan Huandao Hydrogen Station not only integrates comprehensive functions including hydrogen refueling, natural gas refueling, EV charging, and automotive services, but also serves as a crucial energy node along the Chengdu-Chongqing "Hydrogen Corridor" and the New Western Land-Sea Corridor. With a daily hydrogen supply capacity of 1,000 kg, the station can meet the daily refueling needs of approximately 100 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, effectively supporting the operation of regional logistics trucks, buses, and other vehicles.A relevant official from the Chongqing Jiulongpo District Commission of Economy and Information Technology informed reporters that after eight years of persistent development, the "Western Hydrogen Valley" has now attracted leading international companies such as Bosch from Germany and top domestic players like Guohong Hydrogen, which act as anchor enterprises in the supply chain. These companies cover core products such as hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles and fuel cell systems, forming a relatively complete supporting ecosystem for the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle industry. Currently, Jiulongpo District has deployed over 1,100 hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicles nationwide, which have accumulated more than 20 million kilometers in operation. These vehicles are being used in various scenarios including chemical transportation, mining engineering, and base agriculture. The Banshan Huandao Integrated Energy Station has become a key part of efforts to densify the hydrogen infrastructure network within Jiulongpo's Western Hydrogen Valley and is one of the core nodes in the region's planned "1-hour hydrogen supply network."It is understood that Sinopec has leveraged its internal resources to establish a complete localized supply chain encompassing hydrogen production, purification, transportation, and refueling. This chain utilizes by-product hydrogen from Sichuan Vinylon Works' chemical processes, which is purified to 99.999% purity at a high-purity hydrogen supply center. The hydrogen is then transported via pipeline to a hydrogen hub station, and subsequently delivered by tube trailer to satellite stations like Banshan Huandao. This system provides a solid guarantee for the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing "Hydrogen Corridor." Sinopec has already built and put into operation 8 hydrogen refueling stations in Chongqing and plans to accelerate deployment along highways such as the Chengdu-Chongqing, Chongqing-Chengdu, Chongqing-Suining, and Chongqing-Wanzhou routes, connecting major cities to create an interconnected hydrogen network. To date, in terms of hydrogen supply capacity, Chongqing Municipality possesses abundant industrial by-product hydrogen resources, with an annual production exceeding 1.5 billion cubic meters. This volume could fuel 20,000 buses or 500,000 passenger cars.