UK technology company Johnson Matthey and the investment arm of Chinese oil and petrochemicals group Sinopec have agreed to explore ways to collaborate on green and blue hydrogen, fuel cells and other decarbonisation technologies.

The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding and entered into talks over potential collaborations.

“We wish to have a deep collaboration with Johnson Matthey in carbon reduction and green energy fields to fully support achieving China’s national strategic goal of 30/60 carbon peak/carbon neutralisation,” says Zhou Meiyun, deputy chairman and general manager of Sinopec investment arm Sinopec Capital, referring to China’s aim of peaking emissions by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2060.

State-controlled Sinopec aims to be China’s leading hydrogen and clean energy player. The company is developing a RMB3.0bn ($440mn) demonstration project in China’s far western region of Xinjiang that is expected to be the world’s biggest hydrogen production facility when it goes online next summer.

20,000t/yr – Green hydrogen production capacity of Xinjiang project

It will have the capacity to produce 20,000t/yr of green hydrogen, equal to 10-20pc of the 100,000-200,000t/yr China wants to produce by 2025 under its first national hydrogen strategy.

Johnson Matthey already has a significant presence in China. It launched its China business in 1993 and is one of the country’s leading players in the syngas and hydrogen fuel-cell sectors. It is also China’s first commercial scale producer of membrane electrode assemblies for fuel cells, one of the country’s largest platinum group metal refiners and its leading producer of auto catalysts.

“Some of the world’s biggest companies already rely on our technologies, and we are very excited to explore how we can work with Sinopec to expand our businesses while creating and scaling the low-carbon solutions that help China achieve carbon-neutrality by 2060,” says Mark Su, president of Johnson Matthey in China.

Last month, the company launched a UK-China research consortium to help accelerate China’s low-carbon goals. The consortium—which includes Fudan University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Xiamen University and Oxford University—will work on scientific research focused on the use of CO₂ in green bulk chemicals production.

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Author: Stuart Penson