(Yicai Global) Feb. 15 -- Oil and gas giant Sinopec put China’s first integrated methanol-to-hydrogen and hydrogen refueling service station into operation today.

The integrated complex in Dalian, Liaoning province can produce 1,000 kilograms of hydrogen, with a high purity of 99.999 percent, a day, Yicai Global learned from Sinopec’s public relations department.

“The service station’s comprehensive cost is at least 20 percent lower than that of a traditional hydrogen refueling station,” said Wang Haibo, general manager of Sinopec North Energy Dalian.

Beijing-based Sinopec will promote the service model at its 30,000 gas stations across the country, he said, adding that it is expected to be replicated nationwide rather quickly.

Traditional hydrogen refueling stations use gas produced at chemical plants, but the hydrogen so produced cannot reach the purity required by hydrogen fuel vehicles, said Fang Haifeng, general manager of Sinopec Fuel Oil Sales.

And the further purification, loading and discharging of hydrogen is open to safety risks, with operating costs quite high, he pointed out.

The integrated project not only saves the huge cost and operation risk in hydrogen transport, but also makes it possible to produce the gas flexibly based on actual demand at refueling stations, thereby reducing storage costs, Fang added.

China’s methanol output accounts for 60 percent of the world’s total. In addition to abundant sources, methanol has low production costs, with storage and transport charges much lower than hydrogen.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Peter Thomas