China's Sinopec has begun producing green hydrogen at a plant - the largest in the country - in the far western region of Xinjiang and announced plans to build a 400 km pipeline from Inner Mongolia to the capital, Beijing, to transport the fuel.

The new pipeline will provide clean energy for local oil refining plants and fuel cell vehicles.

The green hydrogen facility has the capacity to produce 20,000 metric tons of hydrogen a year, using solar power to electrolyze water, Sinopec said.  In addition the facility has hydrogen storage capacity of 210,000 cubic meters and transmission capacity of 28,000 cubic meters per hour.

Other state-owned energy giants such as China National Petroleum Corporation and State Power Investment Corporation have similar pipeline plans that mostly start from Inner Mongolia, Gansu province, and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, all regions well-suited to wind and solar power generation, according to Chinese media.

As a demonstration for production capability buildup along the industry chain, Sinopec also plans to build wind and solar power farms in Ulanqab and use the clean energy to produce hydrogen locally.