Taking a leadership position among the world’s major integrated petroleum and petrochemical companies, Chairman of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), Zhang Yuzhuo, has announced Sinopec’s ambitions to reach carbon emissions peak before China’s goal and to achieve carbon neutrality 10 years ahead of China’s target.
During a results announcement yesterday, Mr Yuzhuo outlined: “To build a world-leading clean energy chemical enterprise, Sinopec will actively embrace the energy revolution and industrial transformation and firmly implement a pioneering development strategy to form an industrial layout that’s built on energy resources, winged by clean oil products and modern chemical engineering, and supported by the key growth pillars of new energy, new material and new economy.”
Accelerating energy transition to build “the largest hydrogen energy company”
Sinopec will make hydrogen energy the main goal of its new energy businesses, making full use of its industry and network advantages to vigorously promote clean fossil energy and scaled operations of clean energy, fully participate in the construction of charging and battery replacement infrastructure networks, and accelerate the development of hydrogen energy.
In the next five years, Sinopec plans to construct 1,000 hydrogen or oil-hydrogen refuelling stations and build “China’s largest hydrogen energy company” at the forefront of the industry in promoting business demonstration.
Propelling industrial upgrading to become a comprehensive energy service provider for “oil, gas, hydrogen, electricity and non-oil services”
Sinopec’s new industrial landscape shows a business map of its transformation and upgrading.
The company will consolidate its ‘one foundation’ to lay a solid basis for energy resources and effectively increase oil/gas reserves as well as primary energy production capacity, strengthen the ‘two wings’ of improving clean oil quality and modern industrial development, and expand the ‘three news’ – exploring new energy, new material and new economy to achieve the conversion of new and old kinetic energy.
Within the field of new energy, Sinopec will cement its leading advantages in the hydrogen energy sector and accelerate the strategy of building the company as a comprehensive energy service provider for oil, gas, hydrogen, electricity and non-oil services and forge a strong and efficient industrial chain.
Promoting technological innovation to speed up the building of a technology pilot company
Sinopec will continue to deepen the reform of its science and technology system, boosting R&D funding to focus more on basic and applied research and to strengthen core technology research.
This, the company states, will help to achieve quick translation of results and rapid product iteration, enhance independent and original innovation capabilities, cultivate more innovative talents to speed up the building of a technology pilot company and provide strong scientific and technological support for transformation development and industrial upgrading.
Charting a low-carbon course to achieve carbon neutrality 10 years ahead of China’s goal
For the first time, Sinopec has incorporated ‘cleanliness’ into the company’s vision and goals to carry out a green development path to build core competitiveness.
Sinopec will step up in substituting natural gas and electricity, vigorously develop green hydrogen production and increase the proportion of low-carbon raw materials to develop a recycling economy and reduce the carbon footprint of products throughout the entire life cycle.
By 2025, Sinopec is aiming for its methane emission intensity to be reduced by 50 per cent.
The company will build megatonne-level CCUS demonstration projects, develop carbon-neutral forests, carbon-neutral gas stations and other distinctive models to make the new image of Sinopec green and clean.
In the context of China proposing to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality targets by 2060, Sinopec states that it will march towards net-zero emissions to ensure reaching peak carbon emissions before the targeted year and to achieve carbon neutrality 10 years in advance, making new contributions in tackling global climate change.
