With the nationwide wave of concentrated construction kick‑off for large‑scale wind‑solar bases under the 15th Five‑Year Plan, green‑hydrogen production projects supporting renewable energy are seeing explosive growth. In the first half of 2026, the total volume of publicly‑tendered domestic water electrolysis hydrogen‑production equipment surged by 175% year‑on‑year. Tendering thresholds for wind‑solar base projects keep rising. Three key performance indicators — stable operation across an ultra‑wide load range of 5%‑150%, rated DC power consumption ≤ 4.3 kWh/Nm³, and 3 MPa high‑pressure direct hydrogen output — are gradually turning into mandatory access criteria for electrolyzers deployed in wind‑solar supporting projects. Outdated electrolysis products with narrow load adaptability and high energy consumption are phasing out of the market, opening a large‑scale window for domestically self‑developed PEM equipment to replace imported alternatives.
Conventional electrolyzers generally operate stably only within a 20%‑100% load window. Wind and photovoltaic power output fluctuates drastically between day and night and under varying weather conditions. Frequent equipment start‑stop causes heavy wear‑and‑tear and substantial curtailed wind and solar power, greatly lowering new‑energy resource utilization efficiency. In contrast, megawatt‑grade PEM electrolysis equipment adopting self‑developed technologies including multi‑stage variable‑flow flow‑field design and ion‑beam catalytic reconstruction achieves a load‑change rate of ≥ 20% per second. It can rapidly adjust hydrogen‑production load in real time following wind‑solar power fluctuations, lifting new‑energy consumption efficiency by over 20%. For a ten‑thousand‑ton‑scale wind‑solar hydrogen‑production base, annual electricity cost savings can reach the order of tens of millions RMB, creating remarkable long‑term operational‑economy gaps. Meanwhile, the high‑pressure direct‑output design eliminates multi‑stage hydrogen compression units, cutting plant footprint, capital expenditure for compressors and continuous power consumption, and has become a preferred selection criterion for large‑scale green‑hydrogen base projects.
From the perspective of market competition, numerous small‑and‑medium manufacturers previously produced electrolysis equipment by assembling outsourced membrane electrodes and bipolar plates, relying on overseas imports for core components, which could not guarantee delivery lead‑time and product stability. With domestic breakthroughs in full‑set processes such as ion‑beam micro‑nano processing and nano‑coating for metallic bipolar plates, enterprises with fully self‑owned production lines hold obvious advantages in quotation and operation‑and‑maintenance costs over assembly‑oriented manufacturers. Tendering results from major wind‑solar energy groups reflect a steadily rising bid‑winning proportion for enterprises with full‑chain independent manufacturing capacity covering bipolar plates, membrane electrodes and complete‑machine control systems. Domestic substitution accelerates for core materials including titanium‑alloy diffusion layers, ultra‑thin metallic bipolar plates and dedicated catalytic materials. The comprehensive procurement cost of self‑developed core components is nearly 40% lower than that of imported counterparts.
At present, multiple regions across China are planning 100‑thousand‑ton‑level wind‑solar coupled green‑hydrogen integrated industrial parks. Such projects feature long cycles and massive equipment procurement volume. Tenderers no longer merely compare unit prices of equipment; greater emphasis is placed on full‑lifecycle O&M, subsequent modular expansion, and one‑stop EPC delivery capability. Manufacturers that only supply standalone units without site construction or long‑term O&M services face declining competitiveness. Full‑chain enterprises capable of delivering integrated services including solution planning, equipment manufacturing, explosion‑proof engineering EPC contracting, year‑round cloud‑based entrusted operation and maintenance, and later‑phase technical renovation & expansion will continuously capture dominant market share in wind‑solar hydrogen‑production business.
