Technological Revolution: The 2025 Second Green Hydrogen Industry Innovation and Development Conference Opens Grandly

On April 23, 2025, the “2025 Second Green Hydrogen Industry Innovation and Development Conference,” co-hosted by the Polar Star Power Network and the Beijing Carbon Neutrality Society, was grandly held in Nanjing. This year’s theme, “Sharing New Opportunities in Green Energy and Co-creating a New Future for the Green Hydrogen Era,” attracted representatives from national and local government departments, energy and power groups, hydrogen equipment manufacturing companies, research institutions, and financial organizations.
The conference focused on in-depth discussions regarding hydrogen energy policy orientation, opportunities for green hydrogen development, hydrogen station construction, technological innovation in the industrial chain, and the expansion of application scenarios, contributing valuable insights and strength to the development of the hydrogen energy industry.
Jiang Fan, president of the Beijing Carbon Neutrality Society, delivered the opening speech. He emphasized that green hydrogen, as the ultimate carrier of clean energy, is the key to solving the challenges of renewable energy absorption and achieving deep decarbonization. Currently, the global energy structure is rapidly transforming, and the application of green hydrogen in industries, transportation, and construction is showing strong momentum for diversified development. According to data, by 2060, China’s hydrogen energy demand is expected to exceed 100 million tons, with green hydrogen accounting for over 80% of that demand.
Jiang Fan introduced that the Beijing Carbon Neutrality Society was officially established in 2023, initiated by the Beijing Energy Group, North China Electric Power University, and Beijing University of Technology. It is a scholarly social group that collaborates with academicians, experts, universities, leading enterprises, and high-tech companies. The society has established long-term strategic partnerships with various universities, high-tech enterprises, and carbon trading organizations, launching significant brand activities and academic forums, collecting numerous advanced green and low-carbon technologies, and conducting research on large-scale hydrogen organic liquid storage technology.
Zhou Quan, president of Polar Star, mentioned in his speech at the conference that under the dual drivers of policy and technology, China’s green hydrogen industry is experiencing explosive growth. On one hand, policies are promoting the planned development of green hydrogen in key sectors such as energy, shipping, and chemicals, empowering the transformation of high-carbon and energy-intensive industries. On the other hand, major technological routes for green hydrogen are continuously evolving, with the domestication of PEM electrolysis equipment accelerating and significantly reducing costs and improving efficiency. The overall technology level of AEM electrolysis equipment remains at the forefront globally, continuously leading market changes.
Xiong Huawei, director of the Energy Environment Center of the National Development and Reform Commission’s Energy Research Institute, pointed out that the green hydrogen ammonia alcohol industry in China is developing rapidly. Currently, there are approximately 80 tons/year of green ammonia projects under construction, mainly located in resource-rich areas in North China, Northwest China, and Northeast China. From a planning perspective, proposed green ammonia production capacity is expected to reach 8 million tons/year, accounting for over 10% of the total national ammonia production capacity, corresponding to an annual demand of about 1.4 million tons of green hydrogen. Additionally, in the green low-carbon methanol sector, there are 30,000 tons/year of construction capacity, with planned capacity reaching 10 million tons/year (nearly 10% of existing methanol capacity), which is expected to drive annual green hydrogen demand by 1.5 million tons. The potential annual demand for green hydrogen from just ammonia and methanol as chemical carriers is approaching 3 million tons, highlighting the vast market space and development potential within the green hydrogen sector.
He Guangli, chief hydrogen energy expert at the State Energy Group and director of the Low Carbon Institute’s Hydrogen Energy (Ammonia Energy) Technology Center, shared insights on the current status and challenges of domestic alkaline water electrolysis hydrogen production technology. He proposed enhancement pathways for alkaline electrolysis performance and technology based on practical experience. He also highlighted that the Low Carbon Institute is working to establish a national hydrogen energy innovation platform and a source of original technology in the hydrogen energy field, focusing on three application scenarios: coupling hydrogen energy with coal chemical engineering, heavy-load transportation, and hydrogen storage.
Wang Yongliang, an executive director and first-tier expert of the China Energy Research Association, pointed out that the hydrogen energy industry faces three major challenges: firstly, the cost competitiveness of green hydrogen is lacking, as its price is significantly higher than that of traditional energy hydrogen production; secondly, there are prominent technological bottlenecks that need to balance energy, material, and financial sustainability, particularly addressing the low volumetric energy density of hydrogen in mobile scenarios; and thirdly, there is a lack of patient capital, with most investors focusing on short-term returns, which contradicts the long-cycle nature of hydrogen energy.
Wang emphasized that industry development should focus on large application scenarios, validate the feasibility of technology through large-scale tests, and build an ecosystem involving government, industry, academia, research, and applications. He suggested that for the transition to green fuels, adjusting the carbon-hydrogen ratio is essential. For instance, aviation fuel SAF can achieve a green replacement by blending hydrogen to reduce carbon content. Additionally, catalyst technology (balancing activity, stability, and economic viability) is a key area for current breakthroughs, necessitating accelerated cooperation between production, academia, and research.
Zhang Chunyan, deputy general manager of State Grid Shanghai Comprehensive Energy Service Co., shared insights on the collaborative energy system of electricity and hydrogen in the development of new power systems. She believes that green hydrogen, as the starting point for electricity-hydrogen synergy, will become a core engine for energy transformation, connecting the power energy system to various fields such as industry and transportation. Current key issues in electricity-hydrogen synergy include breakthroughs in core technologies for hydrogen production, storage, transfer, and utilization.
The hydrogen energy industry is recognized for its multifaceted strategic value and application scenarios within the new power system. Hydrogen serves as an efficient storage medium, smoothing fluctuations in wind and solar power. It facilitates cross-temporal energy transfer through water electrolysis and enhances grid resilience via the rapid peak-shaving capability of hydrogen engines and distributed deployment of hydrogen fuel cells in low-carbon transitions. The combined hydrogen-electricity model and construction of zero-carbon parks have already demonstrated their efficacy.
Wang Zhe, a professor at Tongji University and deputy director of the Shanghai Hydrogen Utilization Engineering Technology Research Center, shared insights into the current state of the green hydrogen market both domestically and internationally, as well as the challenges and opportunities it faces. He argues that clean power-driven electrolysis technology is crucial in both the short and long term. As part of a long-term vision, clean hydrogen can also be produced through various advanced new approaches, such as solar photoelectrochemical hydrogen production and biomass hydrogen production technologies, alleviating investment pressures associated with the need for GW-level electrolysis facilities and substantial expansions of clean power generation and transmission infrastructure.
During the conference, the award ceremony for the 2025 “Polar Star Cup” Hydrogen Energy Influential Enterprises was grandly launched. Nearly 100 enterprises in the hydrogen energy industry chain competed fiercely through multiple rounds of technical evaluations. Over 40 benchmark enterprises were honored for their innovative development driven by technology, breaking through barriers in core technology and commercialization. The awarded companies received the 2025 “Polar Star Cup” Hydrogen Energy Industry Influence Award, 2025 “Polar Star Cup” Hydrogen Energy Technology Innovation Award, and 2025 “Polar Star Cup” Hydrogen Energy Excellence Practice Award. These accolades not only reflect the collaborative innovation wisdom of deep cooperation between industry, academia, and research but also mark China’s transformation from a follower to a leader in the hydrogen energy field.
The list of awarded enterprises is as follows (in no particular order):