China pilots sustainable fuel certification system for green transport

BEIJING -- China has recently launched a pilot run of the global sustainable transport certification system in Beijing, marking a key step for the country in international sustainable fuel governance.

The initiative is designed to support China's dual carbon goals and bolster its energy security by aligning with international maritime regulations and leveraging the country's industrial advantages to reduce costs. In 2020, China set the dual carbon goals of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060.

The pilot run was initiated by China Energy Engineering Group Co Ltd (Energy China) and the Global Sustainable Transport Innovation and Knowledge Center, among others.

A green ammonia project from Energy China's hydrogen subsidiary in Songyuan, Northeast China's Jilin province, and a green methanol project from Towngas in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region were the first to be included in the certification system.

The Songyuan project in Jilin utilizes globally leading technologies to overcome the challenge of balancing renewable energy intermittency with the stability required for chemical production, and it has been listed as a national-level green technology innovation project.

The Towngas project in Inner Mongolia uses a proprietary co-gasification technology to produce 100,000 tonnes of green methanol from waste materials annually, with plans in place to expand capacity to 300,000 tonnes before 2030.

The certification system pilot run will aid in developing sustainable fuels into another green growth pole for China, and will contribute a Chinese solution to emission-reduction efforts in the global shipping sector, said Zhou Xiaoneng, chief economist at Energy China.