China's First Domestically Produced 5-Ton-Per-Day Hydrogen Liquefaction Facility Successfully Commences Operations

On May 18, China’s first domestically produced 5-ton-per-day hydrogen liquefaction project utilizing hydrogen expansion refrigeration—developed by the Sixth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation—was officially completed and put into operation at Xuyang Group’s Dingzhou Industrial Park. This project fills a gap in China’s large-scale hydrogen liquefaction equipment sector and marks a new phase of large-scale, industrialized development for the country’s liquid hydrogen production industry.

During the project’s construction, the Academy 6 team overcame technical challenges including multi-system coordinated control for large-scale liquid hydrogen production, adaptation of ultra-low energy consumption processes, long-term safe and stable storage, and intelligent operation throughout the entire process, successfully establishing a system for the industrial construction and commercial operation of the liquid hydrogen industry.

The 5-ton-per-day hydrogen liquefaction facility now in operation is the first large-scale liquefaction equipment in China to adopt the Hydrogen-Claud cycle process, achieving 100% domestic production of all core components. The team successfully mastered multiple key industry technologies, with overall performance meeting world-class standards. Notably, the energy consumption of the core liquefaction system is as low as 11.84 kWh per kilogram, representing a reduction of over 40% compared to traditional helium cycle liquefaction processes, thereby significantly reducing the production cost of liquid hydrogen.

Upon completion, the project will simultaneously launch applications such as long-distance storage and transportation of liquid hydrogen, as well as the commercial operation of liquid hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks. It will reliably supply high-quality, low-cost liquid hydrogen to sectors in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region—including the low-altitude economy, fuel cell heavy-duty trucks, maritime shipping, high-end manufacturing, and new energy storage—thereby comprehensively addressing bottlenecks in the large-scale and industrialized application of hydrogen energy. This initiative holds significant social importance and commercial value.