Dondel Breaks Ground on China’s First Green Hydrogen-to-SAF Project With 11 Billion Yuan Investment in Xinjiang

On September 20, Yiwu County in Hami, Xinjiang, a centralized project bid opening and launch ceremony drew the attention of the entire hydrogen energy community, Dondel officially launched its Green Hydrogen-Coupled CO₂-to-Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) project with an annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes.

This is China’s first demonstration project integrating green hydrogen with carbon-negative aviation kerosene production, and it is also the largest demonstration project of its kind along the same technology pathway in the country.

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With a total investment of 11 billion yuan, the project plans to include 2 GW of wind power and a 50,000-tonne-per-year green hydrogen production line. It will capture and utilize 400,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually, ultimately converting it into 100,000 tonnes of green sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), establishing a complete “green electricity → green hydrogen → carbon capture → green aviation kerosene” carbon-negative industrial chain.

According to Xie Menghao, General Manager of Dondel Energy, the 1,000-tonne pilot along this technology pathway passed its assessment in Meishan, Sichuan in August this year. An expert panel determined the technology to be internationally leading, filling a domestic gap in this field. The 10,000-tonne-scale unit has begun commissioning in Ordos, Inner Mongolia this month. The Yiwu project follows a clear three-stage scale-up path, from thousands of tonnes to tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of tonnes, with each step firmly grounded.

Beyond SAF: A Full Map of “Production, Storage, Transportation, and Application”

What many may not know is that Dondel has been deeply engaged in the hydrogen energy equipment sector for nearly a decade.

This enterprise, which entered the hydrogen energy sector in 2018, has now grown into a full-value-chain hydrogen energy equipment manufacturer and engineering construction service provider spanning “production, storage, transportation, refueling, and application.” Its business covers hydrogen energy equipment manufacturing, engineering construction, and gas sales, serving a wide range of industries including hydrogen energy, petrochemicals, electric power, steel, transportation, and aerospace.

The SAF project represents Dondel’s bold strategic move to extend downstream, but the foundational capability supporting this move is the comprehensive core equipment system that Dondel has refined over many years.

In the compressor domain, Dondel has developed four product lines: diaphragm compressors, liquid-driven compressors, ionic liquid sealed compressors, and reciprocating piston compressors. Among these, the diaphragm compressor achieves a maximum pressure of 90 MPa with hydrogen output purity exceeding 99.999%, it is China’s first domestically produced ultra-high-pressure diaphragm compressor. The ionic liquid sealed compressor is the world’s first independently developed product of its kind, with discharge pressure exceeding 100 MPa. This compressor portfolio covers a wide range of pressurization scenarios, from hydrogen refueling stations to hydrogen production plants, and from industrial gases to specialty gases.

In the hydrogen pump domain, Dondel has also established a comprehensive layout: the liquid hydrogen plunger pump is suitable for various liquefied gases including liquid hydrogen, liquid nitrogen, and liquid oxygen; the hydrogen circulation pump and ejector are specifically designed for fuel cell systems, featuring an all-static structure, zero maintenance, and high reliability.

In terms of end-use products, Dondel has also launched a range of innovative offerings: the PowerMax Super Hydrogen Station (integrating ultra-fast charging, gaseous hydrogen refueling, liquid hydrogen refueling, and off-grid cooling and heating); the Integrated Hydrogen Production and Refueling System (combining hydrogen production, storage, compression, and dispensing in a single unit); the QuickFill Liquid Hydrogen Refueling Station (occupying less than 20 square meters, with a full fill in under 3 minutes); and the Natural Gas Hydrogen Blending System (compatible with 3%–30% hydrogen blending ratios).