Global investment in clean hydrogen production is expected to increase by 70% in 2025. Electricity from Xinjiang in China is transmitted over a long distance to the Chongqing region.
（2025/06/9—2025/06/15）
Author: Shu-Xin Zhang
International Energy News
1. Global investment in clean hydrogen production is expected to increase by 70% in 2025
The newly released "World Energy Investment 2025" report brings fresh news on investment in the hydrogen energy sector. The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that investment in electrolysis projects will reach USD 6 billion in 2025, while investment in blue hydrogen will be less than USD 2 billion. Compared with 2024, global investment in clean hydrogen is expected to grow by 70% this year. In 2025, the total global expenditure on clean hydrogen supply will be approximately USD 7.8 billion, of which USD 6 billion will be allocated to electrolysis projects and USD 1.8 billion to blue hydrogen (produced from natural gas with carbon capture and storage). In contrast, the total investment in 2024 was about USD 4.5 billion, with USD 2.4 billion for electrolysis projects and around USD 2.1 billion for blue hydrogen, marking a 60% increase from 2023. Notably, some hydrogen energy projects have been canceled or postponed over the past 12 months, but a series of projects have still secured Final Investment Decisions (FIDs). The report points out that hydrogen energy projects will require an investment of about USD 8 billion in 2025, a 70% increase from 2024. If all hydrogen projects that have obtained FIDs are successfully developed, their production capacity will increase to approximately 7.5 million tons by 2035, nearly 15 times the current level.
2. This year, the global temperature experienced the second - hottest May on record
The Copernicus Climate Change Service, a climate monitoring agency of the European Union, released a report on June 10 stating that the global average surface temperature in May this year was the second - highest for the month since the agency began keeping records in 1940, second only to that of the same period last year. The global average surface temperature in May was 15.79℃, which was 0.12℃ lower than that in the same period of 2024 but 1.4℃ higher than the pre - industrial average (1850 - 1900). The warming of seawater was evident in May this year. The average surface temperature of seawater between 60°N and 60°S reached 20.79℃, the second - highest for the same period on record and only 0.14℃ lower than that in May 2024. According to the Paris Agreement reached in 2015, all parties should strive to limit the increase in the global average surface temperature to within 2℃ above the pre - industrial average, and make efforts to keep it within 1.5℃. However, in the 22 - month period up to April this year, the global average temperature rose by more than 1.5℃ above the pre - industrial level in 21 of those months.
3. In response to the price caps imposed by western countries, Russian president extends oil supply ban measures
On local time June 10, the Russian President signed a decree, announcing the extension of countermeasures against the price caps set on Russian oil and oil products until December 31, 2025. On December 27, 2022, the President had signed a decree demanding a ban on the supply of Russian oil and oil products to foreign legal entities and individuals that directly or indirectly use the price - capping mechanism in their contracts. This presidential decree came into effect on February 1, 2023, and its validity period has been extended multiple times. In early December 2022, EU member states reached an agreement to set a price cap of USD 60 per barrel on Russian seaborne oil exports. The Group of Seven (G7) and Australia announced that they would implement the same price - capping policy as the EU.
Domestic energy news
1. The "power transmission from Xinjiang to Chongqing" project put into operation, with one power transmission line "equivalent to planting" 900 million trees
On the morning of June 10, the "power transmission from Xinjiang to Chongqing" project, a key construction project of China's 14th Five-Year Plan and the third ultra-high voltage power transmission channel for electricity transmission from Xinjiang to other regions, was completed and put into operation. As one of China's first batch of large-scale wind power and photovoltaic base power transmission projects in "desert, gobi, and barren land" areas, it is estimated that through the "Power Transmission from Xinjiang to Chongqing" project each year, Xinjiang can transmit 36 billion kilowatt-hours of electrical energy to Chongqing. Among them, the proportion of clean energy in the transmitted electrical energy is no less than 50%, and it is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 16.5 million tons annually. According to the latest calculation standards, each tree can absorb an average of about 18.3 kilograms of carbon dioxide per year. The annual clean electrical energy generated from wind and solar-thermal power in Xinjiang and transmitted to Chongqing is equivalent to the carbon reduction achieved by planting 900 million trees.
2. China's first large-scale lithium-sodium hybrid energy storage station put into operation
Recently, the Baochi energy storage station of China southern power grid, a national pilot demonstration project for new energy storage, was commissioned in Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. This is the first large-scale lithium-sodium hybrid energy storage station in China, utilizing the world's first grid-forming sodium-ion energy storage system, which will promote the diversified development of China's new energy storage technologies. Currently, lithium-ion battery energy storage accounts for a relatively large proportion in China's new energy storage projects that have been put into operation. Sodium-ion batteries boast performance advantages such as a long cycle life and the ability to operate stably within a 45℃ environmental temperature difference. Moreover, their raw materials are widely sourced, reserves are abundant, and prices are low. Relevant personnel stated that constructing a lithium-sodium hybrid energy storage station can enhance the station's ability to adapt to load fluctuations and regulate power without significantly increasing costs. The Baochi Energy Storage Station covers an area of approximately 50 mu (about 33,333 square meters), equivalent to the size of five football fields, with a total energy storage capacity of 400 megawatt-hours. Based on a calculation of two charges and two discharges per day, it can regulate 580 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, meeting the annual electricity demand of nearly 270,000 households.
3. China has released 9 national standards for product carbon footprints
So far, China has issued 9 national standards for product carbon footprints, covering livestock products, electrolytic aluminum, chemical fibers, plastic products, and more. Among them, "Greenhouse Gases - Quantification Methods and Requirements for Product Carbon Footprints - Electrolytic Aluminum" is the first national standard for product carbon footprints in the industrial sector. It specifies the accounting boundaries, accounting methods, publication formats, data quality requirements, and traceability requirements, among others. It is reported that in 2024, China's recycled aluminum production exceeded 10 million tons. The energy consumption for its production is only 5% of that for aluminum electrolysis. Each ton of recycled aluminum can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 10 tons compared to electrolytic aluminum. This year, the electrolytic aluminum industry, as one of the first batch of key industries for expanded emission control, has been included in the national carbon market. It covers 98 electrolytic aluminum enterprises with a production capacity of nearly 45 million tons, accounting for over 60% of the global total electrolytic aluminum production capacity.
(Main news sources: CCTVNEWS APP, Xinhua New Media, International Energy Network, China Energy Network, National Energy Administration)
