(Yicai) March 6 -- This year's Chinese government work report proposed accelerating the development of hydrogen energy, mentioning this cutting-edge emerging industry for the first time.

This was the first time the hydrogen energy industry was included in a government work report as a cutting-edge emerging sector, further consolidating confidence in hydrogen energy, Lu Bingbing, general manager at Shanghai Hydrogen Propulsion Technology, told Yicai.

The introduction of the hydrogen energy industry in the 2024 Government Work Report means that in the energy system restructuring process, the positioning and role of hydrogen energy have been accepted and recognized, said Zou Yuquan, chief executive officer at SinoHyKey Technology. Hydrogen energy's attribute as clean energy will play a more significant role in the future, he added.

By 2030, the output value from green factories will account for over 40 percent of China's manufacturing sector, according to a recent document released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other authorities. With its dual carbon goals, the country planned and laid out directions for the growth of the hydrogen energy, energy storage, biological manufacturing, carbon capture, utilization, and storage industries, the document showed.

In recent years, China has been issuing policies to support the growth of the hydrogen energy sector. The country had issued over 900 related policies, 150 of which at the national level, as of the end of last October, according to data from hydrogen energy-focused research institute The Orange Group. Among China's 31 provincial-level regions, 27 had already released industrial schemes related to hydrogen energy.

China has a basic mastery of major technologies and manufacturing processes of hydrogen preparation, storage, transportation, and refueling, the executive in charge of the technology department of China's National Energy Administration said last year. In 2022, the country produced over 35 million tons of hydrogen, becoming the world's biggest hydrogen producer, the executive noted.

Over 5,790 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles were sold in China last year, up 72 percent from a year before, making the country the world's largest seller of such vehicles, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

However, China's hydrogen energy sector is still at an initial stage of development, as its growth potential needs to be further explored, the NEA executive pointed out.

Editor: Futura Costaglione