PetroChina Hydrogen Initiatives for 2025: Key Projects, Strategies and Partnerships

PetroChina’s Hydrogen Pivot: From Strategic Blueprint to Industrial Scale

Industry Adoption: A Shift from Market Testing to Supply-Side Dominance

Between 2021 and 2024, PetroChina’s hydrogen strategy was characterized by foundational investments and market-testing activities. The company established a foothold in downstream applications by building four hydrogen refueling stations to serve the Beijing-Hebei area and initiated pilot projects like blending hydrogen into natural gas pipelines in Ningxia. It also launched its first large-scale renewable hydrogen demonstration project at the Yumen Oilfield in 2023. These initial steps were about creating demand, testing logistics, and proving the viability of hydrogen within its existing energy ecosystem. The applications were diverse but limited in scale, reflecting a period of exploration to understand both the technical and commercial hurdles of a hydrogen economy.

The period from January 2025 to the present marks a significant inflection point, signaling a pivot from demand-side experimentation to a decisive focus on securing and scaling up the supply chain. While earlier efforts centered on utilization, recent activities are dominated by upstream production and midstream technology development. PetroChina contracted Aodeyuan for a next-generation alkaline electrolysis project in Shenzhen and partnered with Aerospace Hydrogen Energy Tech to develop hydrogen liquefaction, a critical technology for storage and transport. Concurrently, it fired up the Dukouhe-Qilibei sour gas field, which has an extremely high hydrogen sulphide content, showcasing its ability to produce hydrogen from challenging hydrocarbon sources. This shift from building refueling stations to contracting for advanced electrolyzers and developing liquefaction technology reveals a clear strategic pattern: PetroChina is no longer just participating in the hydrogen market; it is actively building the industrial backbone to lead it. This creates an opportunity to dominate the supply of both green and blue hydrogen but introduces the threat of being exposed to technology-scaling risks across multiple fronts.

Investment: Capitalizing the Green Transition

PetroChina’s financial commitments underscore its strategic pivot toward a low-carbon and hydrogen-centric future. The investments detailed below illustrate a clear progression from enhancing existing infrastructure to direct acquisitions and funding for dedicated green hydrogen projects, validating the company’s long-term vision with significant capital allocation.

Table: PetroChina’s Strategic Energy Investments

Partnerships: Weaving a Global Hydrogen Web

PetroChina has aggressively pursued a partnership-driven model to accelerate its hydrogen ambitions. These collaborations span the entire value chain, from securing international offtake agreements and developing production technology to building out regional logistics networks. The recent partnerships in 2025, particularly with technology specialists like Aodeyuan and Aerospace Hydrogen, highlight a strategic move to internalize next-generation capabilities.

Table: PetroChina’s Key Hydrogen and Energy Partnerships

Geography: From Domestic Dominance to Global Reach

Between 2021 and 2024, PetroChina’s hydrogen activities were overwhelmingly concentrated within China, establishing a strong domestic foundation. Key projects were strategically located in regions with either high demand or high renewable potential. This included hydrogen refueling stations in the economic hubs of Beijing and Hebei, a hydrogen-natural gas blending pilot in Ningxia, and the landmark green hydrogen project at the Yumen Oilfield in Gansu province. Plans for a 3GW plant in Inner Mongolia further solidified this region as the future epicenter of the company’s green hydrogen production. This domestic focus was about aligning with national decarbonization policies and building a captive market.

Starting in 2025, while the domestic core remains critical, PetroChina’s geographic strategy has visibly expanded to secure international technology and participate in global energy projects. The contract with Aodeyuan for an electrolysis project in Shenzhen and the development of the wind/solar/hydrogen complex in Golmud, Qinghai, demonstrate a deepening of its domestic footprint with more advanced technology. However, the partnership with Aerospace Hydrogen Energy Tech on liquefaction and SAF shows a push for technologies with global applications. Furthermore, its role as a partner in the LNG Canada project, which shipped its first cargo in 2025, places PetroChina within a consortium discussing green hydrogen initiatives in new regions like Africa. This shift indicates that PetroChina is leveraging its domestic scale to project influence globally, moving from a China-centric player to a global energy participant with a strategic interest in hydrogen supply chains that extend beyond its borders.

Technology Maturity: Accelerating from Pilot to Industrial Scale

PetroChina’s journey reflects a rapid maturation of its hydrogen technology portfolio. From 2021 to 2024, the focus was on deploying commercially available technologies and running pilot programs. This phase was defined by the rollout of hydrogen refueling stations—a mature technology—and the launch of its first large-scale (2,600 tonnes/year) green hydrogen project at Yumen Oilfield, moving electrolysis from demonstration to operational status. The construction of a plant capable of producing high-purity, fuel-cell-grade hydrogen in 2022 marked a key validation point for its refining integration strategy. A pilot project blending hydrogen into gas pipelines in Ningxia remained in the experimental phase, testing the limits of existing infrastructure. The overarching trend was proving concepts at a limited scale.

The period from 2025 onward has been defined by a strategic push into next-generation technologies and scaling complex processes. The contract with Aodeyuan for “next-generation” alkaline electrolysis technology in Shenzhen signals a move beyond standard electrolyzers toward more efficient or cost-effective green hydrogen production. The partnership with Aerospace Hydrogen to develop liquefaction technology addresses a critical bottleneck for large-scale hydrogen transport and storage, moving beyond gaseous hydrogen logistics. Furthermore, the successful startup of the Chuandongbei sour gas field, with its 17.06% hydrogen sulphide content, demonstrates commercial mastery over a complex, large-scale process for producing hydrogen from fossil fuels with integrated carbon management. This shift from deploying first-generation tech to actively developing and mastering next-generation and complex industrial processes shows that PetroChina is positioning itself not just as a consumer of hydrogen technology, but as a shaper of it.

Table: SWOT Analysis of PetroChina’s Hydrogen Strategy

Forward-Looking Insights: The Year of Industrialization

The most recent data from 2025 signals that PetroChina is moving decisively into an industrialization phase for its hydrogen business. The era of small pilots and strategic announcements is giving way to contracts for next-generation technology and the development of complex, large-scale production facilities. The simultaneous pursuit of green hydrogen (Aodeyuan contract, Golmud complex) and advanced blue/grey hydrogen (Dukouhe-Qilibei sour gas field) is not a contradiction but a pragmatic dual strategy to dominate supply across the entire production spectrum.

Market actors should pay close attention to the progress of the Shenzhen alkaline electrolysis project and the Golmud wind/solar/hydrogen complex. These projects will be key validation points for PetroChina’s ability to scale renewable hydrogen production and integrate it with its vast energy network. The partnership with Aerospace Hydrogen Energy Tech on liquefaction is another critical signal to watch, as success would unlock national and international hydrogen transport, transforming regional projects into a cohesive energy export strategy. While LNG and natural gas remain core, the momentum in hydrogen is shifting from strategic intent to engineering reality. The year ahead will likely be defined by execution on these capital-intensive projects, solidifying PetroChina’s role as a central architect of China’s hydrogen future.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main change in PetroChina’s hydrogen strategy since the beginning of 2025?
Since 2025, PetroChina has shifted its strategy from market testing and demand creation (e.g., building a few refueling stations) to a decisive focus on building and controlling the supply chain. This is demonstrated by its investments in large-scale production technologies like next-generation electrolyzers with Aodeyuan and critical midstream infrastructure like hydrogen liquefaction with Aerospace Hydrogen Energy Tech.

Is PetroChina only focusing on ‘green’ hydrogen from renewable sources?
No, the company is pursuing a pragmatic dual strategy. While it is heavily investing in green hydrogen (e.g., the Yumen Oilfield and Shenzhen projects), it is also leveraging its hydrocarbon expertise to produce blue/grey hydrogen. The startup of the Dukouhe-Qilibei sour gas field, which has a high hydrogen sulphide content, showcases its ability to produce hydrogen from challenging fossil fuel sources.

What are the biggest risks associated with PetroChina’s new hydrogen focus?
The primary risks include being exposed to technology-scaling challenges on multiple fronts simultaneously (e.g., advanced electrolysis and liquefaction). There is also potential strategic tension as the company must balance massive capital investments in green hydrogen with its continued reliance on traditional oil and gas projects for revenue. Lastly, it faces tangible competition from specialized players like Air Liquide, which are already deploying advanced infrastructure in key markets.

How has PetroChina’s geographic focus for hydrogen projects evolved?
Initially (2021-2024), the focus was almost exclusively domestic, with projects in key Chinese regions like Beijing-Hebei, Ningxia, and Gansu to build a captive market. Since 2025, while the domestic core remains critical, its strategy has expanded to include international partnerships for technology (Aerospace Hydrogen) and potential future supply (Oracle Power MoU), indicating a shift from a China-centric player to a participant in the global hydrogen supply chain.

Which key projects signal PetroChina’s move toward industrial-scale hydrogen production?
Several recent projects mark this shift. The contract with Aodeyuan for a next-generation alkaline electrolysis project in Shenzhen and the development of the Golmud wind/solar/hydrogen complex are key indicators of its intent to scale up green hydrogen. Furthermore, its partnership to develop hydrogen liquefaction technology is critical for enabling large-scale storage and transport, which is essential for an industrial-scale hydrogen economy.

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