Beijing to develop hydrogen energy

China’s capital Beijing aims to have over 10,000 fuel cell vehicles on the road and 37 hydrogen filling stations by 2025, as part of its ambitious plan to develop the hydrogen energy industry. Beijing will also develop 10 to 15 leading hydrogen enterprises with international influence and three to four top industrial research and development and innovation platforms by then, according to a hydrogen energy industry development blueprint released by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology. There were around 150 hydrogen-related companies and institutions in Beijing by the end of 2020. The industry achieved an output value of CNY3 billion last year. Beijing is one of the first cities to develop the hydrogen energy and fuel cell industry. With 20 years of research and development, the city has built an industrial chain in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, which will likely surpass CNY100 billion by 2025.

An analyst said hydrogen is likely to play a more important role in cutting emissions in sectors like steelmaking, heavy-duty trucks, shipping and cement in China. While hydrogen is mainly produced industrially from coal and natural gas, which will generate a certain amount of carbon emissions, the process will be greener as the country is in pursuit of carbon neutrality by 2060, said Luo Zuoxian, Director of Intelligence and Research at the Sinopec Economics and Development Research Institute. “As China gradually drives down costs, it is expected the country will embrace a ‘green’ hydrogen era, one that is generated by renewable energy sources without producing any carbon emissions, by 2030,” he said. “The government will also come up with a more detailed hydrogen energy industry development plan that covers hydrogen production, transportation and consumption.”

The output value of the hydrogen sector in Beijing reached CNY3 billion last year. Cities across the country have shown enthusiasm for developing the clean energy. More than 40 cities have local hydrogen energy industry development plans. Many state-owned enterprises, including State Power Investment Corp and China Petroleum and Chemical, are also laying out plans to tap into the hydrogen sector.

According to Peng Huagang, Secretary General of SASAC, more than one-third of centrally administered SOEs plan to get involved in China’s hydrogen power development to cut emissions and achieve sustainable development, including hydrogen power production, storage, refueling or related businesses. According to the Hydrogen Industrial Technology Innovation Alliance of China, the country’s hydrogen energy industry output value will reach CNY1 trillion by 2025, while the demand for hydrogen will approach 60 million tons by 2050. The alliance expects hydrogen will account for more than 10% of the country’s terminal energy mix and become a new growth pillar of the economy, the China Daily reports.