In Kuche City, Xinjiang, photovoltaic panels stretching across the Gobi Desert deliver green electricity to hydrogen production plants. The Sinopec 10000 ton green hydrogen project has been running safely and smoothly for over 3 years, verifying the reliability of large-scale industrial applications of green hydrogen. From green hydrogen refining in Xinjiang to pure hydrogen metallurgy in Shandong, from green ammonia exports in Jilin to hydrogen energy buses for the Winter Olympics, China's hydrogen energy industry is accelerating from technological demonstration exploration to a new stage of large-scale and commercial development.

Continuous expansion of application scenarios

The first 10000 ton level green hydrogen refining project in China, the Sinopec Xinjiang Kuche Green Hydrogen Demonstration Project, integrates production, storage, and transportation. With full load production, it can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 485000 tons per year. It has been running safely and smoothly for more than 3 years, verifying the reliability of large-scale industrial applications of green hydrogen. In Linyi, Shandong, China Steel Research Institute's pure hydrogen vertical furnace demonstration production line has completed the entire process of pure hydrogen metallurgical high-purity iron production, running stably for over 8000 hours, and achieving normalized production of hydrogen directly reduced iron with a metallization rate of over 96%. During the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, 200 hydrogen powered buses equipped with the National Hydrogen Technology Hydrogen Teng fuel cell system traveled over 880000 kilometers and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by over 620 tons. By the end of 2025, the cumulative sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in China will reach nearly 40000 units, with applications extending to mining trucks, ships, drones, rail transit, and other fields.

Breakthrough in technological innovation

The Da'an Green Ammonia Demonstration Project of State Power Investment Corporation will be completed and put into operation in 2025. It is the first industrial grade stable operation of the largest PEM hydrogen production equipment in China, setting a record for the world's largest single batch of green ammonia exports, with 3750 tons of green ammonia sent to South Korea. Since its establishment in 2017, National Hydrogen Technology has overcome a series of core technologies such as catalysts, proton exchange membranes, carbon paper, membrane electrodes, bipolar plates, and fuel cells, and developed hydrogen fuel cell products and hydrogen surge PEM hydrogen production equipment. Compared with 2020, the cost of fuel cell systems has decreased by 80%, and the power density and lifespan of the fuel cell stack have significantly improved, with the system power entering the 300 kW level. Keywords: strategic news and information, hydrogen energy, scaling up

Policy protection is promising for the future

The Energy Law of the People's Republic of China will be officially implemented in 2025, establishing for the first time the energy attributes and legal status of hydrogen energy at the legal level. The outline of the 15th Five Year Plan specifies hydrogen energy as a key direction for cultivating future industries. The "15th Five Year Plan for the Construction of a New Energy System" includes hydrogen energy in the non fossil energy supply system and proposes a goal of producing 2 million tons of hydrogen from renewable energy by 2030. In March 2026, the three departments will launch a new round of pilot projects for comprehensive application of hydrogen energy, guiding the extension of hydrogen energy application from the transportation sector to all scenarios such as industry, electricity, and green fuels. At the same time, the green hydrogen project has been included in the national voluntary emission reduction mechanism, which can compensate for the cost disadvantage by obtaining carbon asset benefits. The interviewed experts stated that China has established a multi-level policy system from top-level legal design to specific project implementation, providing solid support for the application of green hydrogen production and hydrogen energy technology.Editor/Gao Xue