A large part of China is set to develop new renewable energy technologies based on locally-sourced combustible ice, it has emerged.

Qinghai Province – in the north west of the country – is the site of much of the national concentration of combustible ice: a crystallised material formed when methane and water react in the presence of high pressure and low (air) temperatures.

Combustible ice’s usual location is underneath layers of permafrost in arctic regions or in the oceans and – in line with plans laid out by Luo Huining, Qinghai’s Governor, on 6 March - the province will encourage large energy firms and scientists to assess the potential of it as a clean energy source, whilst ensuring that environmental risk is mitigated.

Combustible Ice: Clean Energy

Combustible ice is considered a clean energy source since it produces very little in the way of greenhouse gas emissions when combusted, and its this feature that has, partly, sparked international interest in as an energy generator. That said, there is a risk of methane escaping if it is extracted incorrectly: something that some scientists are keen to point out. The extraction process itself is tricky and the ice presents some transportation issues, too, they add.

In excess of 100 nations have discovered combustible ice deposits: Qinghai’s having been found towards the end of 2009. The total amount of it present on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is thought to be equivalent to a minimum of 35 billion tonnes of oil: a quantity that could feed China’s energy demand for almost a century.

Ice Extraction: China

However, while the resources are there, the technologies needed for ice extraction in this part of China remain undeveloped. “Qinghai has just started the exploration”, Luo explained, adding: “The key problem is that we still do not have the correct technologies.”

Allied to the development of these technologies will be finding ways of protecting local ecosystems at the same time.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources chief engineer - Zhang Hongtao – China’s utilisation of combustible ice as a energy source could start to take place within the next decade.

Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech