The 2022 Winter Olympics hosted in Beijing are making a name for themselves by implementing hydrogen fuel technologies throughout the event. Shell of China and Zhangjiakou City Transport Construction Investment are teaming together on a project to use the “world’s largest electrolyzers” to provide green hydrogen for several utilities and applications at the event.
Project leaders estimate the electrolyzer will provide half of the total green hydrogen supply for hydrogen fuel-celled vehicles during the Winter Olympic Games. The
20-megawatt electrolyzer and corresponding refueling stations serve as a beta model that can be scaled up to 60 megawatts over the next few years.
Over 600 fuel-cell vehicles at the event will be fueled by this hydrogen source. 212 of those are hydrogen-powered busses used to transport participants throughout the campus. After the games conclude, the buses and the hydrogen fuel infrastructure will continue to operate, serving the community’s citizens. Zhangjiakou isn’t unfamiliar with hydrogen technology, however. Before the games, it already had 444 fuel cell buses in operations serving an estimated 62 million passengers.
The hydrogen is produced using wind energy as the electricity source, making the hydrogen fuel a completely green product. Models forecast the use of hydrogen busses for public transportation in Zhangjiakou reduces carbon dioxide from exhaust alone by about 11.8 tonnes per 6,200 miles driven. According to Wael Sawan, Director of Integrated Gas, Renewable and Energy Solutions at Shell, “The electrolyzer is the largest in our portfolio to date and is in line with Shell’s Powering Progress strategy, which includes plans to build on our leading position in hydrogen.”
The location of Zhangjiakou provides another test for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The buses have successfully performed tests to operate normally at temperatures as low as -22 degrees Fahrenheit, making the technology suitable for higher elevations like this city at 2,300 feet above sea level.
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