On April 28, the National Energy Administration held a press conference to discuss the China Hydrogen Development Report (2025) (hereinafter referred to as the Report). This initiative aims to implement the requirements outlined in the Hydrogen Industry Development Mid- to Long-term Plan (2021-2035) and to guide the healthy and orderly development of the industry. The National Energy Administration’s Department of Energy Conservation and Technology Equipment collaborated with State Energy Hydrogen Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. and other relevant institutions and experts to compile the Report, which focuses on domestic and international technological and industrial developments, summarizing the state of the global hydrogen industry in 2024 and providing an outlook for the Chinese hydrogen industry in 2025.
The year 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and is a crucial year for achieving the goals set in the 14th Five-Year Plan. In the context of increasingly complex geopolitical environments and sluggish global economic growth, coupled with opportunities and new demands arising from technological revolutions, China continues to adhere to a pragmatic approach, leading modernization in industrial systems through technological innovation and accelerating the development of new productive forces. This solidifies the foundation for establishing a new development pattern. Under the guidance of the Four Revolutions and One Cooperation energy security strategy, China’s hydrogen industry is transitioning from pilot exploration to a new phase of orderly development.
The Report consists of three main sections: the status of hydrogen development in 2024, forecasts for the Chinese hydrogen industry in 2025, and a timeline of significant events. The section on 2024 summarizes the development situation of hydrogen energy both domestically and internationally across six aspects: policy issuance, market scale, price levels, innovative applications, international cooperation, and standard certification. The outlook for 2025 presents various recommendations, including enhancing policy coordination, advancing core technology breakthroughs, improving public service systems, promoting hydrogen pilot projects, and exploring international markets.
According to the Report, in 2024, countries will enhance their hydrogen policy frameworks, solidifying the positioning of hydrogen-based derivatives. Hydrogen production and consumption are expected to maintain steady growth, with renewable hydrogen projects being accelerated. High-value, high-energy scenarios will be explored, and international trade cooperation will be expedited, along with the steady progress of the standards and certification system. In China, various levels of industrial policies are continuously being implemented, ensuring stable growth in hydrogen production capacity and output, a gradual decline in market prices, and organized progress in diverse application scenarios. Additionally, international cooperation models are expanding, and project development is synchronizing with technical equipment cooperation, leading to an accelerated supply of hydrogen industry standards.
The Report highlights that in 2024, both central and local governments will strengthen top-level policy design and promote the enactment of special policies, enhancing interdepartmental coordination to guide high-quality industrial development through comprehensive measures. The Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China, effective in 2025, explicitly states the need to “actively and orderly promote the development and utilization of hydrogen energy and foster high-quality growth in the hydrogen industry.” The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council have proposed advancing the full-chain development of hydrogen energy from “production, storage, transportation, and utilization” and establishing comprehensive standards for these processes. Over 560 special hydrogen energy policies have been issued nationwide to promote local hydrogen industry development based on regional conditions.
In 2024, China’s hydrogen production and consumption are expected to exceed 36.5 million tons, ranking first in the world. By the end of 2024, the cumulative installed capacity of global renewable hydrogen projects will surpass 250,000 tons per year, with China accounting for over 50%, gradually becoming a leading nation in the development of renewable hydrogen and related industries.
The Report indicates that in 2024, guided by technological innovation and aiming for industrial scale and commercialization, China will progressively achieve breakthroughs in key technologies across the entire hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization chain. Large-scale renewable hydrogen production projects in Xinjiang and Ningxia will be operational, connecting the entire process of renewable hydrogen production, storage, and utilization, thus serving as effective demonstration models. The demonstration application of fuel cell vehicles will steadily advance, with over 540 hydrogen refueling stations established and approximately 24,000 fuel cell vehicles promoted. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhengzhou, and Hebei have collectively promoted over 15,000 fuel cell vehicles.
Various types of fuel cell power generation and combined heat and power projects will commence operations, including tests of a 50 MW F-class heavy gas turbine burning 30% hydrogen, and validation of a megawatt-level pure hydrogen gas turbine. Additionally, six hydrogen energy technologies have been selected as part of the National Energy Administration’s fourth batch of significant technological equipment in the energy sector, covering all aspects of hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization.
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/china-leads-global-hydrogen-consumption-with-36-5-million-tons-and-50-share-of-green-hydrogen-capacity-targeting-trillion-dollar-market-by-2025/
