Production capacity is improved, projects are implemented, and applications are accelerated
China's hydrogen energy industry is developing according to local conditions
Recently, the China Hydrogen Energy Alliance released the "China Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Industry Development Report 2022" (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper 2022") for the fourth consecutive year. Hydrogen energy is recognized as the cleanest and most efficient green energy source in the world. As the "dual carbon" goal is approaching, the development of the hydrogen energy industry has received widespread attention from all walks of life.
At present, what is the development trend of the hydrogen energy industry at home and abroad? What are the new situations and new tasks facing the development of China's hydrogen energy industry? In the future, what is the key direction of the development of China's hydrogen energy industry? With these questions, the reporter of Science and Technology Daily interviewed relevant experts.
The development policy and standard system of the hydrogen energy industry continue to be strengthened
"The White Paper 2022 systematically sorts out the development trends and trends of the global hydrogen energy industry in 2022, analyzes the new situation, new challenges, new tasks and new requirements faced by the development of China's hydrogen energy industry through detailed content and data, and analyzes the key development directions and tasks of China's hydrogen energy industry, aiming to provide industry reference and theoretical guarantee for China's hydrogen energy and fuel cell industry." Ma Tiancai, deputy secretary-general of China Hydrogen Energy Alliance and professor of Tongji University, introduced.
"The White Paper 2022 released this time systematically summarizes the development trends and trends of the hydrogen energy industry at home and abroad. From an international point of view, countries have successively issued national strategic plans and policies, and their support and promotion for the hydrogen energy industry have been increasing. By the end of 2022, a total of 41 countries and regions, including the United States, Germany, and Japan, had formulated and released national hydrogen energy development strategies. Ma Tiancai said that overall, the current global hydrogen supply and demand scale has increased steadily, and the proportion of low-carbon and clean hydrogen has continued to increase; In the field of transportation and power generation, the application of hydrogen-based energy continues to advance; The cost gap between hydrogen prices in key regions has widened, and hydrogen prices in Europe have increased sharply year-on-year.
From a domestic point of view, China's policies and standards for the development of the hydrogen energy industry are also continuously strengthened, and hydrogen energy management specifications have been introduced one after another. By the end of 2022, China had issued 102 national standards, 30 industry standards, 136 group standards, and 19 local standards related to hydrogen energy, and the hydrogen energy standard system was gradually improved. At the same time, China's renewable hydrogen production capacity has doubled, and intensive implementation has been achieved in the Three North regions. In 2022, China's renewable hydrogen production capacity will be about 5,6 tons, renewable energy hydrogen production projects will be accelerated, and Northwest and North China will lead the planning and construction of large-scale renewable hydrogen base demonstration projects.
"More importantly, the price of hydrogen in key areas of China has been stable and declining, and the application of hydrogen energy in the fields of industry and power generation has accelerated. Promoting the construction of the supply chain with large-scale industrial application will become an important starting point for the development of China's hydrogen energy industry. Ma Tiancai said that in 2022, the promotion of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will be accelerated, relying on major demonstration projects such as the "Fuel Cell Vehicle Demonstration City Agglomeration", the sales volume of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in China will increase by 3367,12682, and the number of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will reach 36,358, a year-on-year increase of about 40%; A total of <> hydrogen refueling stations have been built, a year-on-year increase of more than <>%.
A new situation of diversified commercial application is taking shape
In March 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) jointly issued the Medium and Long-Term Plan for the Development of the Hydrogen Energy Industry (3-2021) (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). The plan lists hydrogen energy as an important part of the future national energy system.
"Under the guidance of the plan, China's hydrogen energy industry has entered a new stage of development, with green hydrogen as the source and carbon reduction as the main goal, and a new situation of diversified and commercial application of hydrogen energy in industry, transportation, power generation and other industries is taking shape." Jiang Lijun, member of the Expert Committee of the China Hydrogen Energy Alliance and chief scientist of the Research Group, pointed out.
Jiang Lijun believes that the current layout of China's hydrogen energy industry has two major characteristics. First, the hydrogen energy industry is richer in connotation, and the hydrogen energy industry is developing in the direction of hydrogen power, green hydrogen industry, and hydrogen energy storage. "Hydrogen energy transportation has been further expanded from road vehicles to aircraft, ships, rail vehicles and other engineering vehicles, and the industrial application of green hydrogen is a hot spot of social concern. Jiang Lijun explained.
Second, the hydrogen energy industry has shown a trend of regional development according to local conditions. Jiang Lijun said that the western region, which is rich in renewable energy, will focus on the development of green hydrogen chemical industry, hydrogen metallurgy and other industries with green hydrogen as the source; The eastern region, which has abundant application scenarios, focuses on the development of hydrogen energy transportation applications; In remote areas such as islands and border defenses, explore the construction of a distributed power source-hydrogen coupled clean energy supply system.
In Ma Tiancai's view, there are great differences in resource endowments in various regions of China, and the development speed of the hydrogen energy industry is not consistent. In 2023, the key to optimizing the layout of China's hydrogen energy industry lies in "adapting measures to local conditions" and "complementing each other's advantages", and all regions should achieve differentiated development.
Ma Tiancai said that the western region can give full play to the advantages of abundant renewable resources, low industrial development costs, and great potential for demonstration applications, and build large-scale green hydrogen supply bases and large-scale application scenarios to promote industrial development. The eastern region can give full play to the advantages of strong technological innovation capabilities and solid equipment manufacturing foundation, promote the continuous iteration of key hydrogen technologies and equipment products, and accelerate the transformation of advanced technological achievements; Coastal areas can actively tap the potential of offshore wind power to produce hydrogen, build "offshore energy islands", and realize large-scale consumption and utilization of offshore wind resources.
It is very important to strengthen the technical research in key links
In Ma Tiancai's view, strengthening the technical research of key links is very important for the development of the hydrogen energy industry. "We should focus on the R&D and breakthroughs in key technologies such as large-scale water electrolysis for hydrogen production, as well as core devices, and promote the pilot trial of related technologies in demonstration projects." Ma Tiancai said.
"In terms of technological innovation, we should take systematic product development as the goal, gather the superior resources of materials, components and equipment to carry out systematic research and development, avoid scattered, chaotic and small, and prevent segmentation. In terms of principle innovation, it is necessary to encourage bold innovation, tolerate temporary failures, and provide a relaxed space for the growth of original technology. Jiang Lijun suggested.
"In order to promote the development of the hydrogen energy industry, we need to improve the hydrogen energy standard and public service system. Carry out the formulation and revision of hydrogen energy standards in key areas such as hydrogen liquefaction and hydrogen-electric coupling, and attach importance to the formulation of national standards; Relying on the 'Hydrogen Energy Leader Action' to build a national and regional testing and certification platform, and accelerate the iterative upgrading of technical equipment. Ma Tiancai said.
Jiang Lijun also emphasized the importance of standards to promote the development of the hydrogen energy industry. He said: "In terms of the construction of the standard system, it is necessary to give full play to the role of social groups, establish a standardized green channel and a multi-party coordination mechanism, promote the implementation of new technologies with intrinsic safety and new models that reduce the cost of use, and accelerate the alternation of technologies and standards." The China Hydrogen Alliance will play an important role in this regard. ”
Promoting the demonstration of major projects is also a powerful starting point for the development of the hydrogen energy industry. "It is recommended to deploy a major demonstration project of the integration of the whole chain of 'production, storage and utilization' and the construction of regional hydrogen energy infrastructure to solve the problem of mismatch between upstream and downstream supply and demand, unclear consumption, and reduce development costs through the scale of the supply chain." Ma Tiancai believes that in order to achieve the healthy development of the hydrogen energy industry, it is also necessary to carry out extensive exchanges and cooperation at home and abroad, actively deploy overseas markets, and explore cooperation opportunities and formulate a systematic cooperation framework with international leading enterprises around hydrogen-based energy trade, international standard formulation, key technology research and development, and transnational demonstration project construction. (Science and Technology Daily reporter Lu Chengkuan)