Overview of China Hydrogen Energy Policy

For a long time, China has had no specific policies for hydrogen energy and the fuel cell industry. Most of the policy support is only a part of macro policies, such as to facilitate the development of new energy vehicle, and to carry out scientific and technological innovation in energy and transportation sectors. Authorities that issue these policies are mainly the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). They issue macro-level guiding policies for the development and application of fuel cell vehicles and the construction of hydrogen energy infrastructure, as well as financial support for R&D and direct subsidies. Among them, the subsidy policy promoting the development of fuel cell vehicles has proven to be the most direct and effective one.

Since 2018, the attention and support for hydrogen energy and fuel cells have increased significantly, especially for some local governments. It is expected that in the future, China will focus on supporting the technical research of key components of hydrogen energy technologies and fuel cells, improving the industrial chain and promoting the industrial demonstration and application, as well as the construction of hydrogen energy infrastructure such as hydrogen refueling station.