As a mainstream hydrogen production method, the layout of the natural gas hydrogen production industry chain is increasingly improving.

​​Hydrogen production from natural gas refers to a process that uses natural gas as raw material, puts it into a reformer after pretreatment, generates carbon monoxide and hydrogen, and then uses waste heat recovery technology to convert carbon monoxide into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Hydrogen production from natural gas has the advantages of stable operation, mature technology, low production cost, and low energy consumption. It is widely used in petrochemical industry, new energy vehicles and other fields. According to the different reactions in which natural gas participates, hydrogen production from natural gas can be divided into three types: hydrogen production by autothermal reforming, hydrogen production by steam reforming, and hydrogen production by natural gas partial oxidation reaction.

The upstream of the natural gas hydrogen production industry chain supplies raw materials, with natural gas as its core raw material. According to national statistics, my country’s natural gas production will reach 207.58 billion cubic meters in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 7.8%. The supply of raw materials is sufficient, laying the foundation for the development of the natural gas hydrogen production industry. In 2021, my country’s natural gas hydrogen production output reached 4.917 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 6.5%. The Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions are my country’s main natural gas hydrogen production areas. After years of development, the layout of my country’s natural gas hydrogen production industry chain has become increasingly complete, and the industry’s development speed has continued to accelerate.

The downstream of the natural gas hydrogen production industry chain is application fields, including petrochemical industry, new energy vehicles, etc. Hydrogen fuel cells are the mainstream product of new energy vehicle power batteries, and hydrogen energy is its main raw material. According to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, my country’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicle sales will reach 1,586 units in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 34.7%. Driven by the national “double carbon” goal, the prosperity of my country’s new energy vehicle industry will continue to improve. As downstream demand becomes increasingly strong, the scale of my country’s natural gas hydrogen production market continues to expand. According to the “2023-2028 China Natural Gas Hydrogen Production Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center, In 2021, my country’s natural gas hydrogen production market will reach 81.24 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.2%.

At present, steam reforming to produce hydrogen is the mainstream process for producing hydrogen from natural gas. Hydrogen production by steam reforming requires high-temperature reforming of natural gas and water vapor, synthesis gas shift, condensation, pressure swing adsorption and other processes. It has the advantages of mature and reliable technology and low production cost, but it consumes high energy.

The main players in my country’s natural gas hydrogen production market include Fumiao Technology, Meijin Energy, Foran Energy, Jinhong Gas, Guohong Hydrogen Energy, Ji’an Hydrogen Source, etc. Meijin Energy has a natural gas hydrogen production unit of 800.0 cubic meters per hour, and its production capacity ranks among the leaders in my country’s natural gas hydrogen production industry.

Industry analysts said that hydrogen production from natural gas is a mainstream hydrogen production method and is widely used in many fields. With the increasing demand for hydrogen energy market The development speed of natural gas hydrogen production industry will continue to accelerate. At present, my country’s natural gas hydrogen production has formed a complete industrial chain, attracting many chemical and new energy companies to lay out research and development tracks, driving market competition to become increasingly fierce. It is expected that in the future, driven by technological innovation, the concentration of my country’s natural gas hydrogen production industry will continue to increase.