Hydrogen energy has been incorporated into the implementation guidelines of various provinces and cities for achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.

Following the issuance in October 2021 by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council of the "Opinions on Fully, Accurately, and Comprehensively Implementing the New Development Philosophy and Doing a Good Job in Achieving Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality," which marked the beginning of a top-level design framework for hydrogen energy, various national ministries and commissions—including the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and the National Energy Administration—have all elaborated in their respective implementation documents on specific recommendations for hydrogen energy development across different sectors. Building upon this top-level design, as of now, 17 provinces have successively released their own "Implementation Opinions on Fully, Accurately, and Comprehensively Implementing the New Development Philosophy and Doing a Good Job in Achieving Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality." Among these, 16 provinces have provided concrete directions for developing hydrogen energy.

In a document issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, specific guidance is provided for the high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry: namely, to promote coordinated development across the entire hydrogen energy value chain—from production and storage to transportation and utilization—accelerate the construction of hydrogen refueling stations, advance research into cutting-edge low-carbon technologies such as hydrogen production from renewable energy sources, and strengthen R&D, demonstration, and large-scale application of key technologies related to hydrogen production, storage, and utilization.

The 16 provinces that have incorporated hydrogen energy into their implementation guidelines are Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangdong, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, Hebei, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Jilin, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Hunan, and Fujian. All 16 provinces are implementing the guidelines as outlined above.

Among them, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, and Hebei—having been approved as demonstration city clusters for fuel cell vehicles—each exhibit distinctive approaches to advancing carbon peaking and carbon neutrality by leveraging their respective demonstration tasks and comprehensive urban infrastructure. Beijing proposes to promote the construction of national hydrogen energy demonstration pilots, develop a complete industrial chain spanning hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and establish a heavy-duty truck freight corridor powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Shanghai and Guangdong both enjoy relatively strong foundations for hydrogen energy industry development and have proposed coordinated efforts to advance the entire hydrogen energy value chain—from production and storage to transportation and utilization. Hebei, endowed with abundant renewable energy resources, focuses primarily on hydrogen supply and has proposed promoting the construction of national hydrogen energy demonstration pilots to enhance its capacity for hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization.

The photo shows hydrogen fuel cell buses used for shuttle services during the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Currently, China's hydrogen energy development is transitioning from primarily focusing on the transportation sector to a comprehensive push toward diversified applications in industries such as manufacturing and chemical processing. Inner Mongolia and Ningxia have emerged as representative regions driving the full-scale development of hydrogen energy applications.

Inner Mongolia boasts abundant energy resources, particularly in renewable energy sources such as wind and photovoltaic power. The region currently has a potential hydrogen-production capacity from new energy sources exceeding 3.3 million tons. In addition to using hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks as a replacement, hydrogen can also be applied in sectors including chemical industry, hydrogen-based metallurgy, construction, heating and power supply in agricultural, pastoral, and border areas. In its implementation guidelines, Inner Mongolia proposes vigorously developing the green hydrogen economy, promoting the integrated development of green hydrogen with industries such as coal chemicals and metallurgy, and building an integrated industrial chain covering green hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and application. This will help foster the scaled, clustered, and high-end development of the hydrogen energy industry.

Ningxia boasts a rich array of hydrogen energy application scenarios. Key application areas—including green hydrogen coupled with coal chemical industry, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, hydrogen-blended natural gas, hydrogen energy storage, and integrated hydrogen-based combined heat and power—can all be fully realized in Ningxia. The Ningdong Base has been included in the national demonstration city clusters for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in Shanghai and Zhengzhou, making it the only development zone in Northwest China to have earned such demonstration status. The implementation guidelines emphasize vigorously promoting green hydrogen production, achieving hydrogen-to-coal substitution, and driving the large-scale production, transportation, storage, and application of hydrogen energy. Furthermore, the guidelines call for building a large-scale green hydrogen production base within the Ningdong Photovoltaic Industrial Park and establishing the Ningdong Renewable Energy-Based Hydrogen Production Coupled with Coal Chemical Industry Demonstration Zone.

In addition to the provinces mentioned above, Fujian, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Chongqing, and Hunan have all proposed promoting the full-chain development of hydrogen energy—covering “production, storage, transportation, and utilization.” Jilin has proposed accelerating the construction of the “Northern Hydrogen Valley,” while Jiangxi is focusing on advancing the research and application of hydrogen energy. Sichuan, in addition to addressing technological shortcomings across various segments of the hydrogen energy industrial chain, has also emphasized encouraging universities to establish new disciplines and specialties related to hydrogen energy.

As clearly stated in the “Mid- to Long-Term Plan for the Development of the Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021-2035),” hydrogen energy is a crucial enabler for achieving a green and low-carbon transformation at the end-use energy consumption stage. Localities are actively leveraging hydrogen energy to support their goals of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. (Reprinted from the Hydrogen Energy Alliance CHA)