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International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy

CHINA

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Update: June 2026

On November 8, 2025, the State Council Information Office released the “White Paper on China's Action to Peak Carbon Emissions and Achieve Carbon Neutrality”.
The “white paper” states to accelerate the development of green hydrogen energy, biomass energy, geothermal energy, and ocean energy. China adheres to innovation driven development, promotes the full chain development of hydrogen energy production, storage, transportation, and use, and accelerates the cultivation of new products, new formats, and new models. By the end of 2024, the green hydrogen energy production capacity has exceeded 150000 tons per year.
https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/202511/content_7047492.htm

On November 10, 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Energy Administration released “Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Consumption and Regulation of New Energy”.
The “opinion” points out innovative integrated development model for new energy. Research and formulate policy are established to promote the integrated development of new energy, support regions with abundant new energy resources such as "desert-gobi-wasteland" to strengthen the coordination of the upstream and downstream industrial chains of new energy, and establish an integrated development industrial system. Enhance the application level of green electricity in the manufacturing of new energy equipment, and achieve the goal of "creating green with green". Coordinate the layout of integrated industries for the production, storage, transportation, and use of green fuels such as hydrogen, ammonia, and alcohol, and create a "flexible load". Promote the construction of zero carbon parks.
https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xwdt/tzgg/202511/t20251110_1401470_ext.html

On January 9, 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the "Guidelines for the Construction and Application of Industrial Green Microgrids (2026-2030)".
The “Guidelines” propose to promote the efficient and complementary utilization of multiple energy sources, coordinate and make good use of various local energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy, hydrogen energy, waste heat, pressure and gas, and build a clean energy supply system that integrates power supply, hydrogen supply, heating (cooling), gas supply, etc., effectively ensuring the diverse energy needs of industrial users.
https://www.miit.gov.cn/zwgk/zcwj/wjfb/tz/art/2026/art_44c5364d80b748e4b797bc115388c6aa.html

On March 5, 2026, Premier LI Qiang delivered the “Government Work Report” on behalf of the State Council at the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress.
The “Report” proposes to intensify efforts to cultivate and strengthen new driving forces, establish a mechanism for future industry investment growth and risk sharing, and cultivate and develop future industries such as future energy, etc.
The “Report” proposes to accelerate the comprehensive green transformation, establish a national low-carbon transformation fund to cultivate new growth drivers such as hydrogen energy and green fuels, support the innovative application of green and low-carbon technology equipment.
https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202603/content_7062625.htm

On March 12, 2026, the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress voted to pass the “Ecological Environment Code of the People's Republic of China”. The code will be effective from August 15, 2026.
The release of the “Ecological Environment Code” is of great significance, with the most important being the formal inclusion of carbon peak and carbon neutrality into national laws, providing solid legal support for China's ambitious goal of "dual carbon".
https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/fl/202603/t20260313_1146496.shtml

On March 20, 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the “Implementation Plan for High Quality Development of Energy saving Equipment (2026-2028)”.
The “Implementation Plan” focuses on six types of energy-saving equipment. For water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment, by 2028, a DC power consumption of less than 4.2 kWh/Nm³ under rated operating conditions should be achieved for mass-production.
https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202603/content_7063339.htm

On April 17, 2026, the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the General Office of the National Development and Reform Commission, the General Office of the Ministry of Education, the General Office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the General Office of the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the “Guidelines for Green Design of Industrial Products (2026 Edition)".
The “Guidelines” propose to develop green design solutions that are technologically advanced, economically feasible, and supply-demand compatible, focusing on key areas of green design in industries such as hydrogen energy equipment.
https://www.miit.gov.cn/zwgk/zcwj/wjfb/tz/art/2026/art_0e02aa4c9dfe40c0ae322af3c185eed6.html

On April 22, 2026, the Xinhua News Agency was authorized to release the “Opinions of the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on Achieving Higher-Level and Higher-Quality Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction”.
The “Opinions” require “actively develop electric (hydrogen) heavy-duty trucks and green fuel ships, and support the blending and substitution of clean and low-carbon fuels”.
https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/202604/content_7066622.htm

On April 23, 2026, the Xinhua News Agency was authorized to release the "Comprehensive Evaluation and Assessment Measures for Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality" issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council, which also issued a notice requiring all regions and departments to conscientiously comply with and implement them.
The "Measures" officially incorporate the requirements of carbon emission dual control into the party's regulatory system, which will effectively urge local party committees and governments to firmly shoulder the responsibility of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, ensure the implementation of work, and ensure the timely achievement of the "dual carbon" goals.
https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202604/content_7066694.htm
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Update: June 2026

On December 15, 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the "Recommended Catalogue of Energy saving and Carbon reducing Technology and Equipment in the National Industrial and Information Technology Field (2025 Edition)".
There are 9 clean low-carbon hydrogen preparation and application technologies in the “Catalogue”, they are:
Complete set of equipment for hydrogen production through electrolysis of water;
Composite membrane technology for alkaline water electrolysis hydrogen production;
Low temperature ammonia decomposition hydrogen production unit;
Core technology for cold start ice breaking in hydrogen circuit;
Hydrogen production technology through anion exchange membrane electrolysis of water;
Gas hydrogen storage and supply system for unmanned aerial vehicles;
Low power hydrogen fuel cell system
200 kW hydrogen fuel cell power system
Integrated technology for hydrogen production with large capacity wind ionization network.
https://www.miit.gov.cn/jgsj/jns/nyjy/art/2025/art_165c32a4b777438f8cab485d6a74fd28.html
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On December 16, 2025, the first phase of the China Energy Engineering Songyuan Hydrogen Energy Industrial Park (Green Hydrogen-Ammonia-Methanol Integration) project was officially put into operation in Songyuan City, Jilin Province.
The project plans to annually produce 45,000 tons green hydrogen, 200,000 tons green ammonia and green methanol. 64 sets of 1000 Nm3/h alkaline electrolyzers have been installed.

On March 16, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the National Development and Reform Commission released the “Initiative to Pilot the Comprehensive Application of Hydrogen Energy”.
By 2030, hydrogen energy in urban agglomerations will be applied on a large scale in various fields, and the average price of terminal hydrogen will be reduced to below 25 RMB/kg, and to around 15 RMB/kg in some advantageous areas; The number of fuel cell vehicles in China is expected to double compared to 2025, with the goal of reaching 100000 vehicles.
Each urban agglomeration should give priority to pilot applications such as fuel cell vehicles, green ammonia alcohols, hydrogen based chemical raw material substitution, hydrogen metallurgy, and hydrogen doped combustion that meet the conditions, actively explore innovative hydrogen energy application scenarios, and form a comprehensive hydrogen energy application ecosystem of "1 fuel cell vehicle universal scenario+N industrial application scenarios+X innovative application scenarios".
The central government will adopt a "reward instead of subsidy" approach to provide incentive funding support to urban agglomerations. The reward standards are set according to the application situation of terminal products in various scenarios or the scale of hydrogen use. The pilot period for each urban agglomeration is 4 years. The maximum reward limit for a single city cluster during the pilot period shall not exceed 1.6 billion yuan.
https://www.miit.gov.cn/jgsj/jns/wjfb/art/2026/art_ba44a11611c74802ac37288704fbed54.html

On April 19, China's first 100,000 household scale natural gas/hydrogen blending application project was officially launched in Weifang City, Shandong Province. The project relies on the existing urban natural gas pipeline infrastructure in Weifang and can achieve stable natural gas hydrogen blending transmission and distribution.
The project adopts 30000 cubic meters of natural gas hydrogen blending equipment, which can adjust the hydrogen blending ratio from 0 to 10%. At present, the project has built an electrolytic water hydrogen production equipment with a capacity of 5,000 Nm3/h, the first urban gas hydrogen transmission pipeline in China with a total length of 5.2 km, and a hydrogen blending/hydrogen transmission full process detection platform.
The project is supported by the “National Key Research and Development Program Project - Hydrogen Enters Every Household”.
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Update: June 2026

From November 5 to 10, 2025, the “8th China International Import Expo (CIIE)” was held in Shanghai.
At this year's CIIE, hydrogen energy once again became the focus, and hydrogen energy related exhibits further shifted from demonstration displays to commercial landing, presenting a more practical breakthrough path in transportation equipment, energy conversion, storage and transportation systems, etc., demonstrating that the hydrogen energy industry is accelerating from demonstration applications to large-scale development.

From March 25 to 27, 2026, “2026 China International Hydrogen Congress & Expo” was held in Beijing.
More than 500 domestic and foreign enterprises and institutions from 14 countries participated in the exhibition. Nearly 90,000 professional visitors from 77 countries and regions participated the events. 3,000 top academicians, experts, industry leaders, representatives of international organizations, and policy makers from around the world discuss the development plan of the hydrogen energy industry.
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Updated November 2024

On August 15th, the National Energy Administration released “National Key Research and Development Program – Hydrogen Technology”. The 2024 guide focused on three technical directions: green hydrogen production and scale transfer system, safe hydrogen storage and rapid transmission and distribution system, and convenient hydrogen upgrading and efficient power system. It planned to launch 13 tasks and allocate 254 million yuan in national funding.
https://zc.gjzwfw.gov.cn/art/2024/8/26/art_14_75869.html

On October 9th, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released “Announcement on the Final Review and Liquidation of Subsidies for the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles in 2021 and Previous Years, and the Pre allocation of Subsidies for 2022”. Between 2016 and 2021, a total of 10 fuel cell vehicle companies received subsidies for the promotion and application of new energy vehicles for 15 models and 405 vehicles (495 of which were declared for promotion), with a total of 169 million yuan in liquidated subsidies.
https://www.miit.gov.cn/jgsj/zbys/gzdt/art/2024/art_860d0e66056a45fe9b3c0d331b65653e.html
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Update: June 2026

On December 30, 2025, the National Energy Administration approved 353 energy industry standards, while 7 are hydrogen energy related standards, covering PEMFC/SOFC, green ammonia/methanol, hydrogen refueling stations, and other aspects.

On January 27, 2026, the National Energy Administration issued the “Notice on the Establishment of seven Standardization Technical Organizations”. The “Notice” shows that the National Energy Administration has agreed to establish seven standardization technical organizations, four of which involve the field of hydrogen energy, namely the Hydrogen Energy Foundation and General Standardization, the Hydrogen Energy Production Standardization, the Hydrogen Energy Storage and Transportation Standardization, and the Hydrogen Energy Application Standardization.
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China Statement (PDF); 40th Steering Committee Meeting; Washington DC; 4-5 October 2023

China Statement (PDF); 33nd Steering Committee Meeting; Online; June 16-19, 2020
China Statement (PDF 587KB); 32nd Steering Committee Meeting; Seoul, Republic of Korea: October 21-25, 2019
China Statement (PDF 406KB); 31st Steering Committee Meeting; Vienna, Austria; April 9-12, 2019
China Statement (PDF); 30th Steering Committee Meeting; Pretoria, South Africa; December 4-7, 2018
China Statement (PDF); 29th Steering Committee Meeting; Kobe, Japan; May 8-11, 2018
China Statement (PDF); 28th Steering Committee Meeting; Netherlands; November 20-23, 2017
China Statement (PDF); 27th Steering Committee Meeting; Hamburg, Germany; April 25-28, 2017
China Statement (PDF); 26th Steering Committee Meeting;Gwangju, Republic of Korea; November 1-4, 2016
China Statement (PDF 283KB); 25th Steering Committee Meeting;Berkeley, CA, USA; May 17-20, 2016
Chinese Statement (PDF); 24th Steering Committee Meeting; Grenoble, France; 1-3 December, 2015
Chinese Statement (PDF); 23rd Steering Committee Meeting; Wuhan, China; 27-28 May 2015
Chinese Statement (PDF 511KB); 22nd Steering Committee Meeting; Rome, Italy; 2-3 December 2014
Chinese Statement (PDF 1.16MB); 20th Steering Committee Meeting; City of Fukuoka, Japan; 20-21 November 2013
Chinese Statement (PDF 732KB); 18th Steering Committee Meeting; Seville, Spain; 14 November 2012
Chinese Statement (PDF 687KB); 17th Steering Committee Meeting; Cape Town, South Africa; 3-4 May 2012
Chinese Statement (PDF 1.78MB); 15th Steering Committee Meeting; Vancouver, Canada; May 2011
Chinese Statement (PDF 2MB); 13th Joint Meeting of the ILC & SC; Essen, Germany; May 2010
Chinese Statement (PDF 1.97MB); ILC/SC Joint Meeting; Washington, DC; 1-3 December 2009
Chinese Statement (PDF 685KB); Steering Committee Meeting; Reykjavik, Iceland; 26-27 September 2006
Chinese Statement (PDF 989KB); Steering Committee; Kyoto, Japan; 14-15 September 2005
Chinese Statement (PDF 1MB); Steering Committee Meeting; Paris, France; 26-28 January 2005
Chinese Statement (PDF 453KB); Steering Committee Meeting; Beijing, China; 26-28 May 2004
Chinese Statement (PDF 31KB); ILC Committee Meeting; Reisensburg, Germany; 26 February 2004
Ministerial Statement; IPHE Ministerial Meeting; Washington, D.C.; 20 Nov 2003
Contact: Zhang Cunman | zhangcunman@tongji.edu.cn & Xue Mingzhe |mzxue@tonji.edu.cn
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