This year's "Government Work Report" proposed to "accelerate the development of cutting-edge emerging hydrogen energy, new materials, innovative drugs and other industries", which is the first time that the hydrogen energy industry entered the "Government Work Report".

At present, hydrogen energy has become a key industry in the construction of the national new energy system. In March 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the Medium and Long-Term Plan for the Development of the Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021-2035), which clarified the strategic positioning of the hydrogen energy industry and the direction of green and low-carbon development. In the past two years, the development of China's hydrogen energy industry has entered the fast lane, the momentum of hydrogen production from renewable energy is strong, the application scenario is accelerating, the shipments and exports of electrolytic cells are growing rapidly, and the country has achieved greater competitive advantages in the international market. However, overall, the development of the hydrogen energy industry is still in the market introduction period, and it is necessary to continue to improve the top-level design, further stimulate the development potential of the industry, and inject new momentum for high-quality economic development.

Broad industrial prospect

Green development is the basis for high-quality development. Hydrogen fuel cell technology is a disruptive technology that can cross-border integrate energy, materials, automobiles, equipment manufacturing and other fields. The hydrogen energy industry has high scientific and technological content and strong driving ability, which can effectively promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and generate a new green and low-carbon industrial chain. It is not only a strategic emerging industry, but also a future industry, and a green industry that promotes the large-scale consumption of renewable energy.

At present, hydrogen energy is becoming an important starting point for global economic recovery and green and low-carbon competition. At present, more than 40 countries and regions have issued hydrogen energy development strategies and plans. For China, it is conservatively estimated that by 2060, hydrogen energy will account for 15% in China's terminal energy system, and hydrogen energy and electricity will cooperate and complement each other to become the main consumer of the terminal energy system, which can drive the formation of 10 trillion yuan emerging industries and inject strong impetus for high-quality development.

Hydrogen energy is indispensable to the construction of a new energy system. Green hydrogen (hydrogen produced by using renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy and nuclear energy), as a clean and high-quality secondary energy source, can reduce the consumption of gasoline and diesel in the field of transportation, and can reduce the consumption of fossil energy such as coal in the industrial field, playing an important role in reducing pollutant emissions; As a large-scale, long-period, cross-season energy storage method, it can improve the flexible adjustment ability of the power system and promote the centralized delivery of new energy power in large bases. As a clean chemical raw material and reducing agent, it can effectively promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries through the integration of "scenery hydrogen storage" and "green electricity - green hydrogen - green ammonia (green alcohol)", which can not only promote carbon reduction in the industrial field, but also drive the green transformation of energy production bases, and provide solutions for local consumption of new energy. To promote the construction of new energy system with green hydrogen energy will promote the efficient utilization of renewable energy in our country and help achieve the goal of "double carbon".

Development faces challenges

The hydrogen energy industry has broad prospects, but it still faces many challenges. The development of the industrial chain is unbalanced and uncoordinated. From the upstream, "hydrogen source is not green" and "hydrogen source is not enough". In 2022, China's renewable energy hydrogen production accounted for a relatively small proportion of hydrogen energy production. From the midstream point of view, "storage and transportation is not smooth" and "supply and demand are not connected." Large-scale low-cost hydrogen energy transportation technology has not yet broken through, and storage and transportation costs account for a relatively high proportion of the terminal price of hydrogen. The Northwest new energy base under construction is the future green hydrogen base, but the local absorption capacity is limited, and the eastern region with rich hydrogen energy application scenarios is often short of hydrogen. From the downstream perspective, there are many applications in the field of transportation, and relatively few applications in the fields of industry, energy storage, and power generation.

Industrial chain supply chain key technical materials and equipment are still dependent on imports. China's hydrogen energy industry equipment has developed rapidly, but in the field of large-scale hydrogen liquefaction, high-pressure hydrogen storage vessels, fuel cells and other key technologies and components still need to be imported. In particular, green hydrogen needs to accelerate the innovation of materials such as proton exchange membranes and catalysts, and promote the innovation and application of equipment such as PEM hydrogen production, hydrogen storage and filling equipment, and hydrogen internal combustion engines.

Commercial application faces the problem of high cost. High cost is the core factor restricting the scale of green hydrogen production. The scale development path and market-oriented business model of China's hydrogen energy industry are still in the stage of continuous exploration, and the cost of each link in the current industrial chain is high to varying degrees.

External challenges are becoming more severe. In terms of imports, in recent years, international competition, technology blockade and trade controls have brought potential risks to the stability and controllability of China's key parts and materials import channels. On the export side, it is affected by trade protectionism. At present, China's electrolytic cell "going to sea" has become a new trend, and has obvious competitive advantages in capacity, technology, cost and supply chain. The United States and Europe have introduced relevant laws to provide financial subsidies or tax credits for domestic clean and low hydrocarbon preparation, which brings severe challenges to the export of electrolytic cells in China. According to the European and American carbon tariff Act, the future hydrogen energy trade between China and the EU must be linked to the EU carbon emission quota pricing mechanism. Strengthening the docking of carbon emission standards in the field of hydrogen energy has become a new situation facing the development of China's hydrogen energy industry.

Policies need to be improved. The energy properties of hydrogen energy have not been effectively implemented. The management of hydrogen as a "hazardous chemical" raises the cost of producing, storing and transporting hydrogen. The centralized management of infrastructure such as hydrogen refueling stations and the safety supervision departments of the hydrogen energy whole chain are not clear in some regions, and the continuous operation of the project faces greater challenges. Hydrogen energy standards and testing and certification systems lag behind, and the standards that have been issued still have a certain gap compared with the perfect system needed for the development of hydrogen energy industrialization. More than two-thirds of the cost of hydrogen production from electrolytic water is electricity price, and the current electricity price policy and electricity consumption model for hydrogen production from renewable energy can not adapt to industrial development. Editor/Xu Shengpeng