Huadian Signs $100 Million Green Hydrogen and Microbial Protein Project

CHIFENG, China — Inner Mongolia Huadian Mengdong Energy Co., Ltd. has signed an agreement with the People's Government of Yuanbaoshan District in Chifeng to develop a green hydrogen and microbial protein demonstration project powered by directly supplied renewable electricity. The project represents a total investment of approximately US$100 million.

The development will include a 73.25-MW integrated wind, solar and energy storage system, together with hydrogen production and storage facilities and a microbial protein production plant. Using proprietary technologies developed by Huadian Engineering Co., Ltd., the facility will combine renewable hydrogen with carbon dioxide recovered from industrial flue gas to produce feed-grade microbial protein through microbial fermentation. The process is designed to capture and utilize industrial CO₂ while advancing the commercialization of low-carbon protein production technologies.

Once operational, the project is expected to utilize approximately 45,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and produce 15,000 tonnes of microbial protein each year. Following cell-wall disruption processing, the product is expected to contain 65%–70% crude protein with a 91.3% protein digestibility rate, providing an alternative to premium imported fishmeal for the aquaculture industry. The project is expected to strengthen domestic supplies of high-quality aquafeed ingredients while offering a cost-competitive alternative to conventional fishmeal.

Construction is scheduled to begin in November 2026, with commercial operations targeted for June 2028. At full capacity, the project is expected to generate annual output valued at approximately RMB 195 million, while contributing around RMB 30 million in annual tax revenue.