[SMM Hydrogen Policy Express] Notice on Further Clarifying Safety Management Responsibilities in the Hydrogen Sector in Tieling City

On August 20, the Tieling Municipal People's Government issued the "Notice on Further Clarifying Safety Management Responsibilities in the Hydrogen Energy Sector in Tieling City."

The document states that the hydrogen products referred to in this notice are those produced by electrolysis of water using renewable energy (collectively known as green hydrogen) and are not managed as hazardous chemicals when used as an energy source. Green hydrogen construction projects should be legally initiated, fulfilling relevant procedures for urban and rural planning, land use, ecological environment, resource utilization, production safety, fire control, and special equipment. It is allowed to construct green hydrogen production projects, such as hydrogen production from solar and wind power electrolysis, and integrated hydrogen production and refueling stations outside chemical industrial parks. Hydrogen production, storage, and refueling station construction projects shall be subject to filing management by county-level governments, while supporting power generation projects and power grid engineering for solar, wind, and other renewable energies shall be subject to approval and filing according to their respective management authorities. The production of green hydrogen does not require a safety production permit for hazardous chemicals.

Hydrogen enterprises shall be supervised and managed for safety according to their industry categories. The production of hydrogen from fossil fuels (gray hydrogen, blue hydrogen) or by-product hydrogen from industrial processes must obtain a safety production permit for hazardous chemicals.

Hydrogen enterprises should establish a safety management organization with emergency management responsibilities or appoint full-time safety management personnel with emergency management responsibilities, clearly defining the division of responsibilities for each link in emergency response, command, handling, rescue, and recovery, and implementing these in detail at the job level.

Policies are as follows:

Notice on Issuing the Further Clarification of Safety Management Responsibilities in the Hydrogen Energy Sector in Tieling City

In order to further promote the development of our city's renewable energy-based hydrogen production industry and effectively manage major safety risks in the hydrogen energy sector, based on laws and regulations including the "People's Republic of China Law on Work Safety," the "People's Republic of China Fire Control Law," the "People's Republic of China Special Equipment Safety Law," the "Regulations on the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals," and the "Liaoning Province Work Safety Regulations," the following notification is made regarding the clarification of safety responsibilities in the hydrogen energy sector in our city:

I. General Principles of Safety Management

The hydrogen products referred to in this notice are those produced by electrolysis of water using renewable energy (collectively known as green hydrogen) and are not managed as hazardous chemicals when used as an energy source. Green hydrogen construction projects should be legally initiated, fulfilling relevant procedures for urban and rural planning, land use, ecological environment, resource utilization, production safety, fire control, and special equipment. It is allowed to construct green hydrogen production projects, such as hydrogen production from solar and wind power electrolysis, and integrated hydrogen production and refueling stations outside chemical industrial parks. Hydrogen production, storage, and refueling station construction projects shall be subject to filing management by county-level governments, while supporting power generation projects and power grid engineering for solar, wind, and other renewable energies shall be subject to approval and filing according to their respective management authorities. Green hydrogen production does not require a safety production permit for hazardous chemicals.

Hydrogen enterprises are subject to safety supervision and management according to their industry categories. Hydrogen production from fossil energy (gray hydrogen, blue hydrogen) or as a by-product of industrial processes should obtain a safety production permit for hazardous chemicals.

II. Clarify the Division of Safety Responsibilities Among Various Units

The housing and urban-rural development department is responsible for legally issuing construction permits, overseeing safety in the construction process, conducting safety and quality inspections; it is also responsible for fire design reviews, acceptance, filing, and spot checks of building projects.

The development and reform department is responsible for planning the development of the green hydrogen industry and approving green hydrogen projects within its authority.

The emergency management department oversees the safety supervision and management of hydrogen production, organizes, guides, and coordinates emergency rescue for safety production and natural disaster incidents in hydrogen enterprises, and leads the investigation and handling of production safety accidents according to law.

The market supervision and administration department is responsible for issuing business licenses to hydrogen enterprises; it supervises the safety of special equipment in hydrogen enterprises and regulates the quality of products produced (or sold) by these enterprises.

The industry and information technology department is responsible for guiding and promoting the development of the hydrogen equipment industry and facilitating the application and promotion of major technological equipment in the hydrogen sector.

The natural resources department is responsible for legally reviewing and approving land use for hydrogen projects and managing related planning permits and approvals according to its responsibilities.

The transportation department is responsible for issuing permits for the road transport of hydrogen, and for the safety supervision and management of hydrogen transport companies, vehicles, and relevant personnel.

The public security department is responsible for the public safety management of hydrogen and the traffic safety management of hydrogen transport vehicles.

The fire department is responsible for inspecting hydrogen enterprises' compliance with fire laws and regulations, and for carrying out emergency rescue operations and investigating and handling fire accidents according to its duties.

The ecological environment department is responsible for approving environmental impact assessments for hydrogen construction projects and supervising hydrogen enterprises in implementing all environmental management requirements.

The meteorological department is responsible for the supervision and management of lightning protection safety in hydrogen enterprises, including the review and approval of lightning protection device designs and final acceptance, and provides meteorological technical support for emergency rescue in case of production safety accidents.

Other departments with safety production supervision and management responsibilities shall, according to their respective duties, supervise and manage the safety production of hydrogen enterprises.

III. Requirements for Safety Responsibility Work

Hydrogen enterprises should establish a safety management organization or appoint full-time safety management personnel with emergency management responsibilities, clearly defining the division of responsibilities for each stage, including emergency response, command, handling, rescue, and recovery, and ensuring that these responsibilities are implemented at the job level.

County-level governments should establish and improve the mechanisms for information notification, decision-making consultations, command and dispatch, and joint response in case of production safety accidents. In the event of a hydrogen-related accident, the emergency response plan should be immediately activated. The departments of emergency management, housing and urban-rural development, ecology and environment, public security, health, and transportation, among others, should organize and implement rescue operations according to the accident emergency response plan without delay or shirking responsibility. Relevant hydrogen-involved enterprises should provide technical guidance and necessary assistance for the emergency rescue of hydrogen accidents.

All levels and relevant departments should, according to their responsibilities, lawfully and in accordance with regulations, carry out administrative approvals and conduct safety supervision during and after the process. They should establish and improve the system of safety supervision, and supervise and inspect the implementation by enterprises of laws, regulations, and national or industry standards concerning production safety. In the event that potential accident hazards are discovered during inspections, immediate measures should be ordered to eliminate them; if major accident hazards cannot be guaranteed to be safe before or during the elimination process, personnel should be ordered to evacuate from the hazardous area, and temporary suspension of production and business operations or cessation of use of related facilities and equipment should be mandated. After the major accident hazards have been eliminated, resumption of production, business, and use can only occur upon review and approval by the supervisory department.

If the national laws, regulations, rules, documents, standards, and norms referred to in this regulation are adjusted or updated, the effective national standards and norms after adjustment and update shall apply.

Tieling Municipal People's Government Office

Aug 20, 2025

This document was drafted by the Tieling Emergency Management Bureau and issued by the Tieling Municipal People's Government Office.