China unveils major hydrogen development plans

China is planning to develop 10 hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS) along four express highways connecting Shanghai with four major cities (Rugao, Suzhou, Huzhou and Ningbo) in the Yangtze River Delta region over the next three years. It is also plans to have more than 500 such sites built by the end of 2030, with more than 200,000 fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) to be on the road, as part of the three-phase development of the Hydrogen Corridor Construction and Development Plan (H₂ Corridor).

The H2 Corridor plan was developed by the China Society of Automotive Engineers (China SAE), under the guidance of the newly established Yangtze River Delta Regional Cooperation Office. As China’s first cross-provincial hydrogen development plan, it will ‘focus on the balanced development of H₂ stations and associated infrastructure with fuel cell commercial vehicles, integrating the region’s existing hydrogen resources and supply chain’.

‘Collaborative development of the hydrogen corridor with joint efforts to connect cities in the Yangtze River Delta region will be an effective approach to overcome the challenges facing the hydrogen infrastructure development,’ says Wang Ju, Deputy Secretary General of China SAE.

At present, the region has six HRSs in operation and 17 under construction. In Shanghai alone, a fleet of 500 fuel cell delivery vehicles are serving over 10 logistics companies.