Hydrogen On the Way
China has a national plan to develop hydrogen aiming at reducing carbon emissions
The efficient running of the first batch of hydrogen buses in November 2021 has earned the trust of authorities in Chengdu, northwest China’s Sichuan Province. In just four months, the second batch of buses was just delivered there. Fenergy, a Chinese provider of hydrogen fuel cell stacks for these buses, has been collaborating with a number of automobile manufacturers for a long time to get hydrogen vehicles onto Chinese streets.
Nearly inexhaustible, zero emission of greenhouse gases (GHGS) ... Hydrogen is not merely an energy source but a true “energy carrier” like electricity. To achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, China is now focusing on the production and use of low-carbon and renewable hydrogen energy, according to a plan jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration on March 23 on hydrogen development during the period 2021-35. As secondary energy source, hydrogen could help decarbonize certain industrial sectors, provide electricity storage and power the transportation sector.
“Hydrogen is a new strategic sector and an important vehicle for realizing the country’s green development. Relying on technology innovation, the sector will grow rapidly, contributing to China’s high-quality development,” said Wang Xiang, Deputy Director of the Department of Innovation and High-tech Development under the NDRC, at a press conference.
Not a simple gas
The plan first reinforced the role of hydrogen as an energy source. “As a chemical-base material, the gas has many uses, and now it is also considered as an energy source, playing another important role in society, especially in the context of reducing GHG emissions,” Yan Hui, an engineer at Fenergy, told Chinafrica.
China, according to Wang, is the world’s largest hydrogen producer, with a yearly production capacity of 40 million tons and a production of 33 million tons per year. In China, around 80 percent of hydrogen is