On June 15, the supporting demonstration project of the 2020 National Key R&D Program of China—the first domestic hydrogen-electrically coupled medium-voltage DC microgrid, was put into operation in Ningbo, Zhejiang. The project has realized the localization of all relevant equipment in the whole chain of the hydrogen industry, and the hydrogen-to-electricity conversion efficiency has reached the world's leading level.

The project started construction in May 2022 and successfully produced hydrogen by March 20th of this year. 

The whole project consists of two parts: "Green Electricity" and "Green Hydrogen". "Green Electricity" refers to a 4MW photovoltaic power station, and "Green Hydrogen" covers the entire industry chain of hydrogen energy utilization, including hydrogen production, storage, and hydrogenation.

The project is located in the Ningbo Cixi Binhai Economic Development Zone, which covers an area of 12,600 square meters. The area is rich in renewable energy resources, and the photovoltaic installed capacity exceeds 500,000 kVA.

In addition, the project is equipped with 3 MW/6 MWh battery energy storage and 240 kW fuel cells, which can support the operation of the grid for a short time when the grid is in urgent need. The project can run continuously off-grid for 168 hours and can meet the daily needs of hydrogenation for 10 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and fast charging for 50 pure electric vehicles.

The project is led by State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Co., Ltd., through the coupling operation of hydrogen energy with wind power, photovoltaic, and other renewable energy sources, and at the same time through the hydrogen energy micro-grid, to meet the needs of users for electricity, hydrogen, and heat.