World’s largest green hydrogen project in China certified by the EU

Envision Energy, a Chinese company headquartered in Shanghai, has received EU certification for the world’s largest completed green hydrogen and ammonia project in northern China. The certificate confirms that production complies with the EU definition of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO).

According to its own statements, the Chinese company Envision Energy is now the world’s largest RFNBO-certified producer, following the certification of production at its 500 MW plant in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, was certified by the Polish branch of the certification body Bureau Veritas, as reported by the industry service Hydrogen Insight. The EU RFNBO certification is a certification for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs), such as green hydrogen, which confirms that they have been produced sustainably in accordance with the requirements of EU directives. It enables the issuance of Proofs of Sustainability and thus provides access to EU funding programmes and market mechanisms, particularly for the transport and industrial sectors.
The news comes a week after the same Bureau Veritas branch also granted RFNBO certification to Jilin Electric Power’s 230-MW green hydrogen and ammonia project, also in northern China, suggesting that the country could become a major supplier to the EU. Bureau Veritas is a publicly listed certification company headquartered in Paris.
Envision, a global green energy company, officially commissioned the world’s largest and most advanced green hydrogen and ammonia production plant on 10 July. The plant is powered entirely by what the company claims is the largest off-grid renewable energy system and is also the first of its kind to be fully AI-enabled, enabling real-time optimisation and stability on a large scale.
The plant produces 320,000 tonnes of green ammonia annually, with exports set to begin in the fourth quarter. The project is located in the Chifeng Net Zero Industrial Park – the world’s largest carbon-neutral industrial park – and is the first in the world to produce green ammonia on an industrial scale. For the first time, innovative energy storage and load flexibility are being deployed on a commercial scale. Surplus green electricity is converted into liquid nitrogen, which is stored in a dynamic air separation unit, whilst electrolysers respond intelligently to fluctuations in renewable energy, thereby dynamically optimising energy consumption and ammonia production. By utilising green ammonia as a stable transport and storage medium, Envision has opened up a practical pathway to scaling up hydrogen use in heavy industry, such as steel producers.
The plant is powered by a proprietary, AI-integrated, off-grid renewable energy system comprising wind turbines, connected battery storage and predictive meteorological models. This system dynamically balances wind and solar feed-in with the demand from the electrolysers and the ammonia synthesis process, thereby ensuring, according to the company, continuous, cost-effective production of green fuel without reliance on the electricity grid.
Source: Hydrogen Insight, Envision