China successfully tested 50 percent green hydrogen co-firing and 100 percent pure hydrogen combustion in a coal-fired boiler on Sunday, a world-first breakthrough by China Energy Investment Corp (CHN Energy) that propels the nation to the global forefront of zero-carbon fuel substitution and offers a critical pathway to decarbonize its massive traditional power sector.
The success of this trial hinges on a fully self-developed hydrogen-coal mixed low-nitrogen burner. Deployed on a 40-megawatt coal-fired boiler, the technology achieved a 50 percent heat-ratio hydrogen co-firing, said CHN Energy, the country's largest coal-fired power generator by capacity.
This achievement directly translates to a staggering 50 percent reduction in both coal consumption and carbon emissions, coupled with highly effective synergistic nitrogen emission reductions, setting a new technical benchmark for clean power generation worldwide, it said.
Industry experts believe that as coal still plays a key role in China's energy consumption, the green and low-carbon transition of the coal power industry is paramount to realizing the country's ambitious "dual-carbon" goals.
This technological leap pioneers an effective pathway for massive carbon reductions in existing coal-fired units and stands as a significant milestone for the integration of coal power with renewable energy sources, they say.
