The National Energy Administration has announced that China ranks first in the world in hydrogen energy production and consumption as of April 28, 2025. During a press conference, the administration discussed the energy landscape for the first quarter and the integration of renewable energy sources. Xu Jilin, deputy director of the Energy Conservation and Technology Equipment Department, presented insights from the “China Hydrogen Energy Development Report (2025).”
Xu emphasized the significance of developing the hydrogen energy industry to accelerate the planning and construction of a new energy system, which is essential for achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets. Guided by the energy security strategy of “Four Revolutions, One Cooperation,” China’s hydrogen energy sector is transitioning from pilot explorations to a new phase of orderly development.
To implement the “Medium and Long-term Plan for Hydrogen Energy Industry Development (2021-2035),” the National Energy Administration has collaborated with relevant industry institutions and experts to prepare the report, focusing on both domestic and international technological and industrial advancements. The report provides a systematic overview of the global hydrogen energy industry in 2024 and forecasts the developments for China in 2025.
The report comprises three main sections: the state of hydrogen energy development in 2024, an outlook for the hydrogen energy industry in China for 2025, and a timeline of significant events. The section on 2024 summarizes the development landscape across six aspects: policy release, market size, price levels, innovative applications, international cooperation, and standards certification. The 2025 outlook proposes five directions for future development, including enhancing policy coordination, advancing core technological breakthroughs, improving public service systems, promoting pilot hydrogen energy projects, and exploring international markets.
In 2024, China is expected to produce and consume over 36.5 million tons of hydrogen, maintaining its position as the world’s leading country in hydrogen energy. By the end of 2024, global renewable energy hydrogen production projects are projected to exceed an annual capacity of 250,000 tons, with China accounting for more than 50% of this capacity, solidifying its role as a leader in renewable hydrogen and related industries.
The report indicates that in 2024, technological innovations will drive the hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization sectors. Several large-scale renewable energy hydrogen production projects, such as those in Xinjiang and Ningxia, have commenced operations, demonstrating effective integration across the hydrogen production, storage, and utilization processes. The deployment of fuel cell vehicles is also progressing steadily, with over 540 hydrogen refueling stations established nationwide and approximately 24,000 fuel cell vehicles promoted, especially in regions like Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhengzhou, and Hebei, where over 15,000 fuel cell vehicles have been deployed.
Moreover, various fuel cell power generation and combined heat and power projects are underway. Notably, a 50-megawatt heavy-duty gas turbine has successfully tested a blend of 30% hydrogen fuel, and a megawatt-scale pure hydrogen gas turbine has completed whole-machine verification. Six hydrogen technology equipment items have been included in the fourth batch of major technological equipment recognized by the National Energy Administration, covering all aspects of hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization.
As 2025 marks the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the planning phase of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the National Energy Administration will continue to promote hydrogen energy policies, incorporate hydrogen energy into energy management tasks, expedite the research and application demonstration of major technological equipment in the hydrogen sector, and foster the development of the entire hydrogen energy industrial chain, thereby enhancing the hydrogen energy ecosystem and optimizing the development environment for the sector.
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