We will promote the healthy, orderly and sustainable development of the hydrogen energy industry

On March 23, the Medium and Long Term Plan for the Development of Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021-2035) jointly developed by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration (hereinafter referred to as the Plan) was released to the public. According to the "Plan", during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China will initially establish a hydrogen energy supply system based on industrial by-production hydrogen and renewable energy hydrogen production nearby utilization; The number of fuel cell vehicles is about 50,000, the deployment and construction of a number of hydrogen refueling stations, renewable energy hydrogen production reaches 100,000 to 200,000 tons/year, and carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by 1 million to 2 million tons/year.

"Hydrogen energy is an important part of the future national energy system, an important carrier to achieve green and low-carbon development with energy terminals, and a key development direction for strategic emerging industries." Wang Xiang, deputy director of the high technology Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that the hydrogen energy industry has intensive technology, wide coverage and strong benefits, which is of great significance to reducing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and achieving the goal of carbon neutrality, and will also inject new momentum into the high-quality development of China's economy.

China is the world's largest hydrogen production country, and the development of the whole hydrogen energy industry chain strongly supports the realization of the "dual carbon" goal

Hydrogen energy is a kind of secondary energy which is rich in sources, green and low carbon and widely used. China is the world's largest hydrogen production country, and the domestic hydrogen energy industry has initially mastered the main technologies and production processes of hydrogen energy preparation, storage and transportation, hydrogenation, fuel cells and system integration, and there are more than 300 industrial enterprises above the scale of the whole industrial chain.

At the just concluded Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, hydrogen energy has become an important embodiment of the concept of "green Olympic Games". "Flying" torch uses hydrogen energy as fuel; A total of more than 1,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles were put into the Winter Olympics area, and more than 30 supporting hydrogen refueling stations were built to fully realize green energy use in the transportation field.

However, China's hydrogen energy industry is still in the early stage of development, facing many challenges such as weak industrial innovation ability, low level of technical equipment, and lagging basic systems to support industrial development.

"The Plan scientifically analyzes the development status of China's hydrogen energy industry, clarifies the strategic positioning, overall requirements and development goals of hydrogen energy in China's green and low-carbon energy transformation, and puts forward specific plans for hydrogen energy innovation system, infrastructure, multiple applications, policy support, organization and implementation, and paints a grand blueprint for the medium and long-term development of China's hydrogen energy industry." Ouyang Minggao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor at Tsinghua University, said.

According to the Plan, by 2025, China will form a relatively perfect system and policy environment for the development of hydrogen energy industry, significantly improve the industrial innovation capacity, basically master the core technology and manufacturing process, initially establish a relatively complete supply chain and industrial system, and initially establish a hydrogen energy supply system based on industrial by-product hydrogen and renewable energy hydrogen production nearby utilization.

By 2030, a relatively complete hydrogen industry technology innovation system, clean energy hydrogen production and supply system will be formed, the industrial layout will be reasonable and orderly, and renewable energy hydrogen production will be widely used, which will strongly support the realization of the carbon peak goal.

By 2035, a hydrogen energy industrial system will be formed to build a multi-component hydrogen energy application ecology covering transportation, energy storage, industry and other fields. The proportion of hydrogen production from renewable energy sources in terminal energy consumption has increased significantly, which plays an important supporting role in the development of green energy transformation.

According to reports, the "Plan" issued this time is one of the "N" in the carbon peak and carbon neutral "1+N" policy system, and comprehensively benchmarked the major decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and The State Council, closely linked to the carbon peak and carbon neutral goals.

"Overall planning and overall layout of the whole hydrogen energy industry chain development is not only an important starting point for the green and low-carbon energy transformation, but also provides strong support for the realization of carbon peak and carbon neutrality." Wang Xiang said that in the energy supply side, hydrogen energy will become an important secondary energy in the future clean energy system; At the end of energy consumption, hydrogen energy is an important carrier for achieving green and low-carbon transformation development with energy terminals.

Put innovation at the core of industrial development, and promote the in-depth integration of industrial chain innovation and development

Infrastructure construction is an important guarantee for the development of hydrogen energy industry, what is our family background?

In terms of hydrogen production, China's annual hydrogen production capacity is about 40 million tons, and the annual output is about 33 million tons, mainly composed of fossil energy hydrogen production and industrial by-product hydrogen, hydrogen production from coal and natural gas account for nearly 80%, and hydrogen production from renewable energy is still very small.

In terms of hydrogen storage and transportation, China's current stage is mainly to high-pressure gas long tube trailer transport, pipeline transport is still a weak point. At present, China's hydrogen pipeline mileage is about 400 kilometers, and the pipeline in use is only about 100 kilometers.

In terms of hydrogen refueling, China has built more than 200 hydrogen refueling stations, but mainly 35MPa gas refueling stations, 70MPa high-pressure gas refueling stations account for a small proportion, and there is insufficient experience in the construction and operation of liquid hydrogen refueling stations and hydrogen production and hydrogenation integrated stations.

Based on the overall layout of the national hydrogen energy industry, the Plan puts forward specific requirements for the construction of hydrogen energy infrastructure and safety management, and is committed to accelerating the construction of a safe, stable and efficient hydrogen energy supply network.

Rational layout of hydrogen production facilities. The "Plan" requires that, in combination with the characteristics of resource endowment and industrial layout, the hydrogen production technology route should be selected according to local conditions, and gradually promote the construction of a clean, low-carbon and low-cost multi-component hydrogen production system.

Steadily building a storage and transportation system. The Plan emphasizes the principle of safety and controllability, supports the exploration and practice of various storage and transportation methods, and gradually builds a high-density, lightweight, low-cost, and diversified hydrogen energy storage and transportation system.

Overall planning of hydrogenation network. The "Plan" emphasizes the demand-oriented principle, coordinates the layout of the construction of hydrogen refueling stations, and promotes the construction of hydrogen refueling networks in an orderly manner. Under the premise of ensuring safety, the economical and intensive use of land resources, support the use of the site facilities of existing refueling stations to expand gas stations in accordance with laws and regulations, and explore new models such as hydrogen refueling stations that integrate hydrogen production, hydrogen storage and hydrogen refueling stations in stations.

The hydrogen energy industry chain is long and the technology is difficult. At present, China's hydrogen energy industry is in the early stage of development, compared with the international advanced level, there are still problems such as weak industrial innovation ability, low level of technical equipment, and dependence on imports of some key core components and basic materials.

"The Plan puts innovation at the core of industrial development, focusing on hydrogen energy preparation, storage, transportation, and application of the whole chain, breaking through key core technologies, improving the autonomy and controllability of equipment, and promoting the in-depth integration and development of the industrial chain innovation chain." Wang Xiang said.

In order to form an efficient and complete industrial chain, the Plan is deployed from four aspects: focusing on key core technologies, focusing on innovation support platforms, focusing on professional talent teams, and focusing on international cooperation opportunities.

"We should seize the opportunity, strive to achieve revolutionary breakthroughs in hydrogen energy science and technology, promote the full maturity of hydrogen energy and fuel cell technology, promote large-scale market penetration of hydrogen energy in key application fields such as transportation and industry, and seize the international frontier." Ouyang Minggao said.

Adhere to prudent application and demonstration first, and strictly prohibit blindly following the trend and rushing ahead regardless of local reality

Safety is the basis and internal requirement for the development of hydrogen industrialization. The "Plan" requires the establishment and improvement of hydrogen energy safety supervision systems and standards, for hydrogen energy production, storage, transportation, refueling and application of the whole industry chain, strengthen the prevention and control of major safety risks, improve the whole process of safety management level.

"At present, there are obvious shortcomings in China's hydrogen energy industry in terms of innovation capacity, technical level and infrastructure construction, and the development pace should not be too fast. We must base on the development foundation of China's hydrogen energy industry and resource endowment conditions, take into account factors such as hydrogen energy supply capacity, economy and market space, scientifically optimize the industrial layout, and guide the standardized development of the industry." Wang Xiang said.

Liu Yafang, deputy director of the Science and Technology Department of the National Energy Administration, said that the "Planning" insists on prudent application and demonstration first, adheres to market application as traction, ADAPTS to local conditions, and prudently expands hydrogen energy application scenarios in transportation, energy storage, industry and other fields.

Demonstration applications in the transport sector will be promoted in an orderly manner. Focus on promoting the application of hydrogen fuel cells in heavy-duty vehicles, and constantly expand the market scale of hydrogen energy application in the transportation sector.

Actively carry out demonstration applications in the field of energy storage. Give full play to the advantages of long-term and large-capacity hydrogen energy storage, and explore and cultivate a new integrated application model of "scenery hydropower + hydrogen energy storage".

Rationalize multiple applications in power generation. Distributed hydrogen fuel cell cogeneration facilities will be laid out according to local conditions, and demonstration of hydrogen-electric fusion microgrids will be carried out. Encourage the demonstration application of hydrogen fuel cell communication base stations/backup power supplies, and gradually introduce hydrogen fuel cell applications in finance, hospitals, schools, industrial and mining enterprises and other fields.

Gradually explore alternative applications in the industrial field. We will explore and carry out demonstrations of hydrogen production from renewable energy sources replacing fossil energy in ammonia synthesis, methanol, refining, coal to oil and gas and other industries, and promote the low-carbon and green development of industries with high energy consumption.

The "Plan" requires that the guiding role of investment within the central budget be played well to support the development of hydrogen-related industries. Banking financial institutions are encouraged to support the development of the hydrogen energy industry in accordance with the principles of risk control and commercial sustainability. Support qualified hydrogen energy enterprises in the science and technology innovation board, GEM and other registered listing financing.

Wang Xiang pointed out that when studying and formulating related plans and support policies for the development of the hydrogen energy industry, all localities should fully consider the regional development foundation and conditions, make overall planning and reasonable layout, and do not go in one step. "It is strictly prohibited to blindly follow the trend and rush forward regardless of local reality to prevent low-level repetitive construction." It is strictly prohibited to "run horses and enclosure land" in the name of building hydrogen energy projects. It is strictly prohibited to compare with each other in terms of hydrogen industry planning, investment scale, investment promotion and project construction."