New Power Buzzword

By Wang Jun

W hen the second phase of a hydrogen energy industrial park kicked off at Yanqing， the district in Beijing that is one of the venues of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2022， it was an indication of the growing importance of the renewable energy source in China. The project will provide clean gas for the games， powering 150 vehicles during the event.

“Hydrogen energy is an important direction to explore in Chinas energy revolution，”Li Ye， Director for Regulation at the National Energy Administration （NEA）， said at an industrial seminar in Beijing in April. “At present， 23 provincial-level regions have issued plans or guidelines for advancing the industry. Remarkable achievements have been made in key and core technologies， and the development of the entire industrial chain is in good shape.”

Xu Guanhua， former Minister of Science and Technology and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences， said in the future， hydrogen will account for 10 percent of Chinas energy mix. “Hydrogen and electric power will complement each other and become the major energy consumed in China， forging an emerging industry of 10 trillion yuan （$1.6 trillion），” Xu said at the seminar.

Energy revolution

Decarbonization is a major driving force for the development of hydrogen energy and related industries.

In 2019， the development of hydrogen energy was listed a priority in the State Councils work report for the first time， and the draft Energy Law in 2020 incorporated hydrogen energy into the countrys energy administration system.

After President Xi Jinping announced in September 2020 that China would peak its carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and realize carbon neutrality before 2060， the exploration of hydrogen energy has been given a new stimulus. The 14th Five-Year Plan （2021-25） for the energy sector expresses commitment to the development of hydrogen and energy storage sectors as part of the new strategic industries.

In 2018， the China Hydrogen Alliance （CHA） was established by China Energy Corp. and 18 other founding members， including leading enterprises from the sectors of energy production， equipment manufacturing， transportation and metallurgical materials， as well as prestigious universities and top research institutions. It aims to build a high-end platform that enables coordinated innovation， resource pooling and commercialization of new technologies across different disciplines， sectors and departments.