A newly released report by the China Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Industry Development Association shows that China’s hydrogen energy industry is poised for technological innovation in 2023, with renewable energy hydrogen production demonstration projects continuing to be released and core technologies in large-scale storage and transportation accelerating breakthroughs.
The report also predicts that the hydrogen energy industry will usher in technological innovation this year, and electrolyzer products will be rapidly iterated. Alkaline electrolyzers with an output of more than 1,000 standard cubic meters per hour and megawatt-level proton exchange membrane electrolyzers will become mainstream, and independent kilowatt-level solid oxide electrolyzers will be put on the market.
Driven by falling hydrogen production costs and demand, core technologies in large-scale storage and transportation such as pipeline networks and liquid hydrogen are accelerating breakthroughs, and the construction of pure hydrogen and hydrogen-doped pipelines under 100 kilometers is accelerating. The mainstream product power of heavy-duty vehicle fuel cell systems will exceed 240 kilowatts, which can basically cover the application needs of all scenarios, resulting in a nearly 20% reduction in product prices.
The report also notes that China’s hydrogen energy industry equipment independence is developing rapidly, but there are still certain shortcomings in key technologies and components such as hydrogen liquefaction, hydrogen storage containers, and fuel cells. Raw materials such as proton exchange membranes, membrane electrodes, and precious metal catalysts are subject to complex preparation processes, high technical difficulty, and scarcity of resources. Independent products face problems such as insufficient production capacity and product performance that urgently needs to be improved.
Despite these challenges, the report is optimistic about the future of China’s hydrogen energy industry. It predicts that the number of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the demonstration city cluster is expected to exceed 10,000 in 2023, and more than 230 hydrogen refueling stations will be built and operated. Northwest and North China will continue to promote the construction of renewable hydrogen bases, and renewable energy resource-rich areas represented by Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, etc. will continue to promote the implementation of large-scale wind, photovoltaic and hydrogen storage integration and source, grid, load and storage integration projects.
The report also highlights the importance of strengthening the construction of large projects to drive technological innovation and the promotion of new technologies, and concentrating efforts to break through the technology and equipment bottlenecks of the hydrogen energy industry chain through enterprise collaboration.
Overall, the report provides a positive outlook for the development of China’s hydrogen energy industry in 2023 and beyond. The industry is expected to see significant technological innovation, with a focus on improving the efficiency and affordability of hydrogen production, storage, and transportation. The commercialization of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is also expected to accelerate, driven by government support and growing demand from the industrial and transportation sectors.
