By Yu Sinan, People’s Daily

In Kuqa, a city in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, rows of solar panels stretch across the Gobi desert. The green electricity they generate travels more than 20 kilometers to a hydrogen production plant, where it is used to electrolyze water into hydrogen. The hydrogen is then piped to a refining and chemical enterprise for use.

This facility is the Sinopec Xinjiang Kuqa Green Hydrogen Pilot Project, China’s first photovoltaic-based hydrogen production plant to reach the 10,000-tonne scale. The project began producing hydrogen on June 30, 2023, and integrates hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and application. By tapping into the region’s abundant solar energy, it produces green hydrogen directly from photovoltaic power and supplies it to Tahe Refining & Chemical Company, a subsidiary of China’s largest oil refiner Sinopec. The green hydrogen replaces the natural gas that was previously used in the oil refining process.

“If the project runs at full capacity, it can cut carbon dioxide emissions by about 485,000 tonnes a year,” said Li Ruixia, manager of the hydrogen energy management department at Sinopec Star New Energy Co., Ltd. Li said the project has operated safely and steadily for more than three years, proving the feasibility of large-scale industrial applications of green hydrogen.

Hydrogen is an abundant, low-carbon secondary energy source with a wide range of applications. Hydrogen production is the first step in the hydrogen industry chain. Based on production methods and associated carbon emissions, hydrogen generally falls into three categories: grey hydrogen, derived from fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas and associated with high carbon emissions; blue hydrogen, also produced from fossil fuels but using more complex and costly technologies that capture emissions; and green hydrogen, produced by electrolyzing water using renewable electricity from sources such as wind and solar.

Hydrogen is an essential industrial feedstock in oil refining. Replacing conventional grey and blue hydrogen with green hydrogen can unlock new growth potential for the hydrogen industry while supporting the low-carbon transition of the petrochemical sector.

The potential of green hydrogen extends beyond refining to industries such as steelmaking, power generation, and transportation. At the Linyi Lingang Economic Development Zone in Linyi, east China’s Shandong province, a pure hydrogen shaft furnace demonstration line operated by China Iron & Steel Research Institute Group Co., Ltd. has completed the full process of producing high-purity iron using pure hydrogen metallurgy technology. The line has achieved regular production of direct reduced iron with a metallization rate above 96 percent, along with batch trial production of 3N-grade (99.9 percent) high-purity iron.

When hydrogen is used to reduce iron oxide, the main byproducts are metallic iron and water vapor, meaning the tail gas from the pure hydrogen shaft furnace has no harmful emissions and significantly reduces environmental impacts. The demonstration project marks the first successful application of pure hydrogen shaft furnace technology in China. It has operated stably for more than 8,000 hours, with a single continuous run exceeding 2,000 hours, fully demonstrating its safety and reliability.

Hydrogen’s high energy density makes it particularly suitable for long-distance transportation, and it is now being used in public transit, cold-chain logistics and trunk-line freight.

During the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, 200 hydrogen-powered buses equipped with fuel cell systems developed by SPIC Hydrogen Energy under State Power Investment Corporation provided transportation services for the Games. The buses operated under challenging conditions, including low temperatures, snowfall and mountain roads, covering a total of more than 880,000 kilometers and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 620 tonnes, with zero carbon emissions, zero accidents, and zero operational errors throughout the event.

By the end of 2025, cumulative sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in China had reached nearly 40,000 units. Applications for hydrogen fuel cell technology had expanded beyond passenger vehicles to include mining trucks, ships, drones, and rail transit. Meanwhile, the country had built 574 hydrogen refueling stations with a combined daily refueling capacity of more than 360 tonnes. In the industrial sector, green hydrogen had begun to steadily replace conventional fuels in certain refining and coal chemical processes, and the country’s green hydrogen production capacity had reached about 250,000 tonnes. 

These developments signal a broader shift: China’s hydrogen industry is moving from technology demonstration toward large-scale commercial deployment, with its application potential continuing to grow.

The steady growth of China’s hydrogen industry reflects both rising market demand and the combined impact of enterprise innovation across the industrial chain, supported by proactive government policies. Several national plans have elevated hydrogen to a strategic priority: the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) designates hydrogen as a key area for future industries, while the plan for building a new energy system during the same period includes hydrogen in the non-fossil energy supply system and sets a target of producing 2 million tonnes of hydrogen from renewable energy sources.

After years of development, China has become the world’s largest producer and consumer of hydrogen, with extensive experience and a solid industrial foundation in hydrogen supply. However, the industry is still at an early stage and faces several bottlenecks. These include high production costs, limited economic viability, and incomplete market and pricing mechanisms — challenges that continue to hinder the commercial rollout of green hydrogen.

Green hydrogen combines the advantages of clean energy and energy storage, making it an important pathway for deep industrial decarbonization and for achieving China’s dual carbon goals of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060, Li said.

Li added that as technologies for solar, wind and other forms of green power continue to advance and costs continue to decline, while the capacity and performance of electrolyzers and fuel cells improve, ongoing technological innovation and material upgrades will help lower the cost of producing and using green hydrogen and enhance the industry’s competitiveness.

By Zou Song, People’s Daily

At a processing facility run by Ethiopia’s AWO Coffee in Hawassa, coffee beans move through standardized production lines, where they are carefully sorted, processed, and stored before being shipped to overseas markets, including China.

“China, with its rapidly growing market, has become one of our most important export destinations,” said Tesfaye Gebru, founder and general manager of AWO Coffee. “Sales to China have brought Ethiopia not only larger purchase orders but also the confidence to expand production, improve quality, and build long-term export channels.”

Ethiopia is widely recognized as the birthplace of Arabica coffee, where favorable altitude, climate, and a long tradition of coffee cultivation create distinctive flavors. In recent years, Ethiopia’s coffee exports to China have grown by an average of 27 percent annually, making China the country’s third-largest export market for coffee.

In fiscal year 2025-2026, Ethiopia exported nearly 48,000 tons of coffee to China, valued at $347 million, with volumes and value rising by about 40 percent and 58 percent, respectively. Founded in 2014, AWO Coffee now exports around 90 percent of its roasted coffee products to China, with shipments to the Chinese market growing by roughly 10 percent annually.

“China’s zero-tariff policy and other supportive measures have significantly enhanced the competitiveness of Ethiopian specialty coffee, encouraging more Chinese buyers to source directly from the country of origin,” Gebru said.

He noted that the growing consumer demand generated by China’s enormous market has provided African businesses, including AWO Coffee, with a practical pathway to turn distinctive local products into stable export businesses. 

Exporting to China is about more than simply selling more products, he said. Through sustained demand and open trading platforms, it helps African small and medium-sized enterprises reduce market-entry barriers, strengthen their export capabilities, and turn local resource advantages into sustainable development gains.

In 2025, AWO Coffee made its debut at the China International Import Expo (CIIE), where it established connections with dozens of Chinese importers interested in long-term cooperation.

“The CIIE has helped us expand our brand presence, strengthen relationships with our Chinese trading partners, and gain a better understanding of the preferences of Chinese consumers,” Gebru said.

Today, the company’s 14-hectare coffee plantation is unable to fully meet demand from China. To increase supply, it has begun working with nearby farmers to expand coffee bean procurement. 

Growing demand from Chinese consumers for a wider variety of roasted coffee products has also encouraged the company to move beyond exporting mainly green coffee beans to higher value-added products such as roasted and packaged coffee.

“China’s commitment to high-standard opening up and the steady implementation of preferential trade policies for Africa have sent a strong signal of long-term cooperation, greatly boosting the confidence of African businesses,” Gebru said.

He added that AWO Coffee will continue deepening cooperation with Chinese importers, expand exports of Ethiopian specialty coffee to China, and develop more value-added products, including ready-to-drink and portable coffee products.

“With China’s continuously expanding market, inclusive and business-friendly trade policies, and diverse platforms for commercial cooperation, more high-quality African products will enter the Chinese market, and Africa and China will continue advancing together on the path of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation,” he concluded.

By Xu Jing, People’s Daily

Quantum technology is beginning to transform the way China’s power grids operate. At the 220-kilovolt Houdian Quantum Application Demonstration Substation in Hefei, east China’s Anhui province, a suite of advanced quantum technologies is now in use. These include diamond-based quantum sensing materials to monitor current fluctuations, quantum-dot gas sensors to detect potential cable fire hazards and partial discharge faults inside switchgear, and other innovations that strengthen the intelligence, safety, and efficiency of grid operations.

Commissioned in November 2024, the facility is China’s first demonstration substation dedicated to the systematic application of quantum technologies. It has deployed 85 independently developed quantum devices across 18 categories, covering quantum sensing, quantum communication, and quantum computing. 

The project represents a pioneering effort to integrate quantum technologies into power grid engineering, offering a new technological solution to the challenges faced by conventional power grids while supporting the development of a new-type power system.

The substation also represents a new generation of fully unattended intelligent substations.

“We have replaced many manual inspection tasks with high-precision quantum sensing equipment,” said Tian Teng, a young engineer at the digitalization institute of the electric power research institute under State Grid Anhui Electric Power Co., Ltd. “The new system can identify and diagnose equipment defects much faster, reducing both inspection costs and operating expenses.”

Inside the high-voltage switchgear hall, rows of power equipment operated steadily. Standing beside an out-of-service switchgear cabinet, Tian pointed to a small device mounted on its side.

“This is a quantum-dot multi-parameter sensor,” he explained. “It continuously monitors the cabinet’s internal environment and detects signals associated with partial electrical discharge, enabling us to assess the condition of the switchgear.”

He then pointed to another compact device attached to a cable beneath the cabinet.

“This is a distribution network current sensor. It monitors line loading in real time and can quickly and accurately locate faults along the transmission line.”

Quantum technologies are embedded throughout the facility — not just in these compact sensing devices.

Quantum technologies are embedded throughout the facility — not just in these compact sensing devices. A quantum lidar system installed on the rooftop monitors atmospheric particles and cloud conditions within a 15-kilometer radius, providing early warnings of weather-related risks.  Quantum attitude sensors mounted on transmission towers can detect magnetic field changes as small as 1/10,000 of the Earth’s magnetic field, enabling highly accurate monitoring of tower alignment. 

Besides, quantum encryption equipment supports both fiber-based quantum secure communications and “5G + quantum” encrypted communications, significantly enhancing cybersecurity across the power network.

The innovation extends beyond physical equipment. The substation has adopted a quantum computing-based approach for power flow analysis, which has been validated using the topology of a real-world power grid on Origin Wukong, China’s domestically developed quantum computer.

“This breakthrough provides an entirely new technical approach for large-scale power grid simulation,” Tian said. “It is expected to further improve the real-time analytical and computing capabilities of power systems.”

Why did China build this quantum-powered substation?

According to Tian, conventional power grids are increasingly facing three major challenges as renewable energy and power-electronics-based equipment become increasingly widespread: limited accuracy in equipment condition monitoring and delayed response; insufficient security for data transmission and control instructions; and the computational limitations of conventional computers when making rapid decisions for increasingly complex grid operations.

Developing a new-type power grid supported by quantum technologies has become an inevitable choice, he said.

Developing the necessary equipment, however, was far from straightforward.

There were no domestic precedents, no established standards and no mature technical solutions to follow, said Zhao Long, head of the power quantum sensing laboratory at the electric power research institute under State Grid Anhui Electric Power Co., Ltd.

“The biggest challenge came when supplies of high-quality diamond sensing materials were cut off by overseas suppliers, bringing the project close to a standstill,” he added.

The team eventually partnered with domestic materials researchers to develop customized alternatives. After repeated rounds of experimentation and testing, they achieved a breakthrough.

New engineering challenges soon emerged, including electromagnetic interference and adapting laboratory technologies to real operating conditions.

“For several consecutive months, we spent our days at the substation collecting data and tuning system parameters, and our nights back in the laboratory refining algorithms and improving packaging and shielding designs,” Zhao recalled.

“When the quantum current transformer finally displayed accurate readings on the monitoring screen, everyone on the team burst into applause. We had successfully bridged the ‘last mile’ from laboratory research to real-world engineering.”

According to project estimates, the application of quantum technologies enables the Houdian demonstration substation to reduce annual electricity measurement errors by more than 500,000 kilowatt-hours, while significantly improving the reliability and economic efficiency of grid operations.

Several quantum technologies first demonstrated at the substation have since been deployed elsewhere across Anhui province and are now being introduced to more regions across China.