Hydrogen plays a critical role in China’s green transition

What 
  • Importance: China is not only the world’s largest producer of hydrogen, but now also the largest producer of green renewable hydrogen. Hydrogen is of high national importance helping to transport energy from areas of country rich in renewable energy to industry heavy areas with high energy usage. Lead by the National Development and Reform Commission, the "Guidelines for the Construction of a Standard System for the Hydrogen Energy Industry (2023 Edition)", is the key guideline for the construction of a standard system for the entire hydrogen energy industry chain at the national level. The "Mid- and Long-term Plan for the Development of the Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021-2035)" proposes three phased goals for the development of green hydrogen, and clearly states that by 2025, the amount of hydrogen produced from renewable energy will reach 100,000 to 200,000 tons per year. At the provincial level, each province and city has introduced relevant policies to plan green hydrogen production capacity in 2025. Hydrogen energy special planning data released by Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Jilin, Ningxia, Gansu and other provinces show that the domestic hydrogen production capacity from renewable energy will reach at least 980,000 tons/year by the end of 2025. 
  • Business opportunity: Green hydrogen projects are concentrated in areas rich in renewable energy resources and with strong local policy support, such as Inner Mongolia, Jilin Guangdong, and Heilongjiang province. Green ammonia and green alcohol are the main consumption area of green hydrogen projects. By end of 2024 China has 94 water electrolysis projects, with  more than 500 projects under construction or in planning. 
    • Companies involved in hydrogen production, storage, and distribution technologies can play a crucial role in these projects. They can offer solutions for electrolysis, hydrogen purification, compression, and transportation, enabling the integration of hydrogen into the energy system. 
    • Companies specializing in wind and solar energy technologies can benefit from the increased demand for renewable energy sources in these projects. They can provide equipment, technology, and expertise for the development and operation of wind and solar farms. 
    • Companies engaged in ammonia and alcohol production can benefit from the Green Ammonia and Green Alcohol projects. These projects aim to produce ammonia and alcohol using renewable energy sources, reducing carbon emissions.
    • Infrastructure development companies can participate in the construction of necessary facilities, such as hydrogen production plants, ammonia and alcohol production units, storage facilities, and transportation infrastructure. 
  • Concrete project plan: The Songyuan industrial park project in Jilin province is among the world’s largest integrated hydrogen-based green fuel projects. Phase I has just been completed in the end of 2025 with 800 MW of wind and solar capacity, able to produce 45,000 metric tonnes of green hydrogen annualy. Phase II is currently under construction and will quadruple the project’s size to be able to produce 800,000 metric tonnes of ammona and methanol.

How 

Hydrogen is the focused areas for promotion activities in the Chinese market, and the relevant promotion work is under Pioneer the possible platform. 

Most of the hydrogen development is carried out with involvement of state owned enterprises that can be challenging for Swedish companies to get access, and Business Sweden has strong network for introducing new technologies or solutions from Swedish companies  

 

contact us

For more information contact Thomas Larsen at thomas.larsen@business-sweden.se.