The company’s HyBlock system looks to shift more integration work to the factory, easing on-site workload and simplifying project execution to make large projects faster to build, easier to manage, and cheaper.
It claims the standardised, prefabricated plant could deliver up to 35% savings in capital spending and cut lead times by 40%.
“Installation work can be reduced by approximately 65%, with fewer interfaces and higher parallel efficiency – helping customers overcome long-standing barriers in cost, complexity, and time,” Longi said.
The platform follows suit of other major electrolyser OEMs attempting to cut project EPC costs for customers. The likes of Electric Hydrogen, Nel, John Cockerill and more have all launched large-scale standardised plant designs.
However, Longi has also unveiled an operations and management platform for its pressurised alkaline systems. Dubbed HySmart, the “AI-assisted” system will monitor in real-time and provide diagnostic analytics to optimise operations.
“It maximises the value of every kilowatt-hour of power and every cubic meter of hydrogen,” the firm added.
It will curb inspection time by about 80%, Longi claimed, with the ability to predict potential equipment failures up to 72 hours in advance with “over 98% accuracy.”
Longi Green Energy’s Chief Strategy and ESG Officer, Zhang Haimeng, said both products would help customers address both capex and opex constraints.
“The real breakthrough lies not only in electrolyser performance, but in rethinking how projects are conceived, constructed, and operated,” he said.
The subsidiary of the solar giant said the company’s installations since 2021 had informed the design of both platforms.
It also comes as Longi looks to establish a footprint in Europe, which has so far looked to protect its homegrown OEMs, often valuing installation and operation expertise over low capex.
A recent IEA report said Chinese-made systems, once installed overseas, offered little to no cost advantage to buying domestic technology.
However, with HyBlock and HySmart, Longi is mounting a direct challenge to that consensus.
Longi Hydrogen’s global electrolysis plans after Chinese learning curves
Longi’s entry into the hydrogen space has been marked by speed and scale. Having started research in the field in 2018, the solar PV giant made its move in 2020, as China set its 2030 carbon-peaking target and hydrogen began to emerge as a cornerstone of future clean energy strategies.
By 2021, it had launched Longi Hydrogen Technology Co. Ltd, opened an electrolyser manufacturing plant in Wuxi, and unveiled its first pressurised 1,000Nm3/h alkaline system.
Its pace has not slowed. Zhang Haimeng, Longi’s Chief Strategy and ESG Officer, told H2 View the company has around 300MW of installed, operational hydrogen production capacity globally, with an order backlog of 200MW. It also has around 2.5GW of manufacturing capacity.
“In 2022, we started to win projects in China – some of the earlier large-scale projects,” he said. “We’re one of the first companies to enter this field at scale and provide products that can support large-scale green hydrogen production.”
However, for all its agility, Zhang explained Longi’s road to ramping up has not been without its bumps.
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