(Yicai Global) April 15 -- Satellite Petrochemical, China's largest acrylic acid producer, will start using its derivative product to tap into the nation's emergent hydrogen energy sector.

Satellite Petrochemical will invest CNY10 million to establish a hydrogen subsidiary in the city of Pinghu in the parent's home province to develop and sell hydrogen and the related transport equipment, the Zhejiang province-based firm said in a statement. 

The move will better use the hydrogen output from the company's propane dehydrogenation, ethane cracking and other procedures, and supply low-cost, high-quality raw materials for the emerging hydrogen fuel industry, according to the statement.

China has been recalibrating its energy mix with more environmentally friendly options in the past few years. The government will promote hydrogen refueling stations and other facilities, Premier Li Keqiang wrote in a government work report for the first time during a high-level political meeting in March. 

Satellite Petrochemical has kicked off its Pinghu-based propylene plant, with an annual output of 900,000 tons, as well as 30,000 tons of hydrogen. It is planning another production line in Jiangsu province with an annual output of 4 million tons of olefin and 250,000 tons of hydrogen.

Editor: Emmi Laine