China Petroleum Engineering Corporation, the country's largest oil and gas supplier, has put into operation the first phase of its first project using renewable energy to produce hydrogen.

The first stage, which became operational on March 16, can produce 2,100 tons of hydrogen with a purity of 99.99 percent a year, the state-owned energy giant announced yesterday.

Located in CNPC's Yumen oil field in China's northwestern Gansu province, the project includes three electrolytic hydrogen production facilities with hourly production capacity of 1,000 standard cubic feet each, according to the company. Hydrogen sales have started through transmission tubes, reaching over 40,000 SCF as of yesterday, it added.

The project's first phase cost CNY211 million (USD29.3 million), local news outlet Gansu Daily reported last August when construction began. Besides the electrolytic hydrogen production facilities, the project has a 30-megawatt photovoltaic power station as its green energy source.

CNPC sees the Yumen oil field as a demonstration base for its clean energy transformation and the leading player in Gansu's hydrogen-based energy supply chain.

China places hydrogen energy as a key part of the future energy system and a means for transition into green energy. According to a 15-year development plan for the hydrogen energy industry published in March 2022, the country will prioritize hydrogen-making using renewable energy, requiring the gradual setup of a complete hydrogen energy industrial system.