CAS Liquid Sunshine (Shawan) Hydrogen Energy, an offshoot of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, held the launch ceremony for a green hydrogen and methanol project in Xinjiang powered by 13.5 GW of solar panels — the world's second-largest solar array. The project will produce 3.6 million tonnes of methanol annually from an estimated 675,000 tonnes of hydrogen, spanning 230 sq km for the solar farm and electrolysers plus 2 sq km for the methanol chain. Built in two phases (first phase: 1.1 million tonnes/year), the methanol will be used alongside coking-coal-derived benzene to produce PET polyester. The affiliated Zhongke Liquid Sunshine (Suzhou) Hydrogen Technology Development Co. Ltd provides the oil-alcohol co-refining technology. The project creates ~2,000 local jobs in the Shawan region.