China has taken a major step forward in its hydrogen economy with the commissioning of its first million-cubic-meter salt cavern hydrogen storage project in Pingdingshan, Henan Province.
Salt cavern hydrogen storage is a key technology to break the bottleneck of large-scale hydrogen storage and transportation, and to support the construction of a new energy system.
CGTN news service reports that “the project is seen as a key step in addressing the challenge of large-scale, low-cost hydrogen storage and marks a new stage in the industrial development of China’s hydrogen chain—integrating production, storage, transport and utilization into a cohesive industrial ecosystem”.
The project is designed to store 1.5 million cubic meters of hydrogen underground. It relies on salt caverns, formed by the dissolution of salt rock, creating large underground hollow spaces. The Chinese Academy of Sciences‘ Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics led the research and development, while major Chinese energy firms contributed to design and construction.
Engineers designed the project to create a cavern with a water-soluble volume exceeding 30,000 cubic meters. The system is expected to store up to 1.5 million standard cubic meters of hydrogen. The hydrogen is injected into the cavern using two compressors. The system operates at a pressure of 15 megapascals and a flow rate of 2,000 standard cubic meters per hour.
According to Liang Wuxing, deputy chief economist of China Pingmei Shenma, these volumes place the project at a demonstration scale that can guide future expansion. The goal is to validate performance before building larger facilities.
“The project has verified the long-term sealing capacity and engineering feasibility of hydrogen storage in layered salt rocks,” said Yang Chunhe, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
This validation is important for scaling up hydrogen infrastructure. Reliable storage allows energy producers to store excess hydrogen generated from renewable sources and release it when demand rises.
Sources:
China Daily, Apr 27, 2026. https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/…/WS69ef0730a310d6866e…
Interesting Engineering, Apr 27, 2026. https://interestingengineering.com/…/china-million…
