China Designates Shanghai as First Pilot Area for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles... Accelerates Hydrogen Car Development

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Chinese government announced that it has designated the Shanghai area, the economic hub of the country, as a pilot application region for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. This move is interpreted as an effort to accelerate the development of the hydrogen vehicle sector, which has been somewhat neglected in China’s electric vehicle market that has been primarily focused on battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

According to local media such as China Securities Journal on the 27th, relevant central government departments including the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly designated the Shanghai area as a "hydrogen fuel cell vehicle pilot application city cluster." China Securities Journal reported that this is the first time the Chinese government has designated a large metropolitan area connecting several adjacent cities as a pilot region for hydrogen fuel cell vehicle applications.

The approved hydrogen fuel cell vehicle application city cluster includes Shanghai and nearby major eastern coastal cities such as Suzhou and Nantong in Jiangsu Province, Jiaxing in Zhejiang Province, and Zibo in Shandong Province. It is expected that, based on full national support measures, China will actively promote the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle industry.

While China has been recognized for successfully fostering the world’s largest electric vehicle market, the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle industry has been considered relatively lagging behind. Last year, China’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicle sales amounted to only 1,177 units. Considering that the total vehicle sales exceeded 20 million units, this number was negligible.

Accordingly, at the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) held last March, the Chinese government presented a long-term economic development blueprint through 2035, specifying the "commercialization of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles" as a concrete goal and has been intensifying support policies. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced in a document released in 2016 that it aims to increase the number of hydrogen vehicles to 1 million by 2030.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.