[SMM Hydrogen Industry Weekly Review] 20250925

I. Policy Review: Hydrogen Policy Developments

(A) Domestic Policies

National Energy Administration and three other ministries:Issued the Guiding Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Development of Energy Equipment. The document explicitly states that by 2030, China’s key energy equipment industry chain and supply chain will achieve self-reliance and controllability, with significant progress in high-end, intelligent, and green development. In the energy storage equipment section, hydrogen energy is listed as a key development area, covering the entire chain of hydrogen production, storage, transport, and application technologies and equipment. The four ministries clearly aim to promote large-scale deployment of hydrogen energy equipment through technological innovation and industrial upgrading, supporting the construction of a new-type energy system.

Hunan Province:Released the Hunan Province Highway LNG Refueling and Hydrogen Refueling Station Layout and Construction Plan. The document states that the Plan will adhere to the principle of “prioritizing major expressway corridors and gradual expansion,” building a rational, safe, and efficient new energy refueling network. LNG refueling stations will first target service areas, parking zones, and former provincial toll stations with high traffic, favorable market conditions, and mature site conditions, later extending to other sections. The goal is to deploy one pair of LNG refueling stations every 100 km on national expressways and every 200 km on provincial expressways to meet long-distance LNG vehicle needs and create a green logistics corridor.

Policy Interpretation:

National Energy Administration et al., Guiding Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Development of Energy Equipment:The document designates hydrogen energy as a key area of energy storage equipment, setting a 2030 target for achieving self-reliance and controllability across the industry chain and supply chain. It is a national-level programmatic document systematically deploying full-chain development of hydrogen energy equipment. Focusing on hydrogen production, storage and transport, and application, it effectively advances the localisation of key equipment.

Hunan Province, Hunan Province Highway LNG Refueling and Hydrogen Refueling Station Layout and Construction Plan:Plans to build eight hydrogen refueling stations on the G4 Beijing–Hong Kong–Macau and G60 Shanghai–Kunming expressways from 2025-2027, forming a north–south hydrogen demonstration corridor. Highway hydrogen refueling station deployment will significantly enhance commercial feasibility. The plan also dovetails with the Hunan Province Three-Year Action Plan for Hydrogen Industry Development, leveraging the Yueyang Green Hydrogen Port and Changsha Construction Machinery Hydrogen Demonstration Zone to create a closed loop of “hydrogen production–storage and transport–application.”

(B) International Policies

European Commission:Approved Spain’s €1.2 billion renewable hydrogen funding programme. The programme will allocate funds through competitive tendering, prioritising green hydrogen production facilities with installed capacity of at least 100 MW, including renewable hydrogen-derived fuel production, hydrogen storage solutions, and supporting renewable power projects. It aims to help Spain reach 12 GW of electrolyser capacity by 2030, reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, and cut 1 million mt of CO₂ emissions.

European Commission:Approved the €3 billion H2Global hydrogen import plan jointly proposed by Germany and the Netherlands to purchase green hydrogen from non-EU countries and sell it domestically. Germany contributes €2.7 billion and the Netherlands €300 million. A dual-auction mechanism will procure green hydrogen at the lowest cost and resell it to industrial users at market prices, with the price difference subsidised by public funds.

Germany:Adopted the National Hydrogen Strategy, targeting 5 GW of green hydrogen capacity by 2030.

France:Updated the National Hydrogen Strategy. A €4 billion support mechanism will be established over the next 15 years to ensure the competitiveness of low-carbon hydrogen. Adjustments include raising national electrolyser capacity to 4.5 GW by 2030 and 8 GW by 2035; strengthening autonomy across the entire hydrogen industry chain; developing low-carbon hydrogen transport networks; and safeguarding basic conditions for hydrogen industry development.

United States:US President Trump signed the “Big and Beautiful” bill, granting the hydrogen industry a two-year extension to 2028 for project commencement deadlines under the tax credit. Projects originally required to start construction before 1 January 2026 to receive up to $3 per kg in tax credits now have until 1 January 2028.

Policy Interpretation:

1. Standards Fragmentation and Cost Pain:The EU’s “extraterritorial carbon jurisdiction” has sparked controversy: its accounting method excludes “recycled carbon fuels” (e.g., biomass-based hydrogen), accused of technological discrimination; CBAM’s tracing of indirect emissions (e.g., grid carbon intensity for electrolytic hydrogen) downgraded a Moroccan PV-based hydrogen project because the grid contains 15% coal power. More problematically, fluctuating EU carbon prices (peaking at €110/mt in 2023) directly affect imported hydrogen costs, forcing countries like Algeria to demand “carbon-price-linked” long-term contracts—new trade clauses reshaping global energy agreements.

2. Competition and Positioning:The decarbonisation stimulus policy packages of China and the EU are essentially industrial reshuffles using standards as weapons. German pipelines, French electrolysers, and US subsidies together constitute the “Three Kingdoms” of the hydrogen era. For China, it must both accelerate alignment with EU carbon-footprint accounting and guard against “standard barriers” evolving into “technological lock-in”—when the EU mandates that hydrogen projects must use second-generation hydrogen-barrier coatings by 2027, the speed of domestic enterprises’ technological iteration will determine their position in the global low-carbon race.

II. Corporate Dynamics: Project Signings and Technical Cooperation

(A) Project Intelligence

Houpu Shares:Houpu International, a subsidiary of Houpu Shares, together with Chengdu Jiqing, successfully exported high-performance mobile metal-hydride hydrogen storage cylinders and supporting simple refueling equipment to Brazil.
A tender for on-site technical services has been released. The project is located in Jintan District, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, and involves the construction of two new salt caves, each with a water volume of 120,000 m³. The design services include preliminary design, single-well design for four wells, and on-site technical services.

Ordos Zhongji New Energy Co., Ltd.: The 4×10⁷Nm³/year hydrogen refueling station project for fuel cell vehicles in Dalate Banner, Inner Mongolia, has been filed for record. According to the project details, the 4×10⁷Nm³/year hydrogen refueling station project for fuel cell vehicles in Dalate Banner, Inner Mongolia, is located in the Economic Development Zone of Dalate Banner, Ordos City, Ordos City. The total investment in this project is 43.85 million yuan, and it is planned to build a new 3000kg/day, 35MPa hydrogen refueling station. It mainly includes one station building, one hydrogen refueling canopy, one hydrogen unloading column, three hydrogen compressors, two sets of 45MPa hydrogen storage cylinders, one set of 20MPa hydrogen storage cylinders, six hydrogen dispensers, four sequential control cabinets, and supporting auxiliary facilities.

Tianjin Hydrogen Hongxin Energy Technology Co., Ltd. : The winning bidder announcement for the hydrogen refueling facility demonstration project of Tianjin Hydrogen Hongxin Energy Technology Co., Ltd. shows that the first-ranked winning bidder is Beijing Hightest Hydrogen Technology Co., Ltd., with a bid price of 3.995 million yuan; the second-ranked winning bidder is Chongqing Naide Energy Equipment Co., Ltd., with a bid price of 3.46 million yuan; the third-ranked winning bidder is Jiangsu Guofu Hydrogen Energy Technology Equipment Co., Ltd., with a bid price of 3.738 million yuan.

Veson Energy : Veson Energy has officially delivered 200 hydrogen fuel cell light trucks equipped with hydrogen power systems to Baoding Agricultural Development Group, specifically for campus food material transportation.

Guohong Hydrogen Energy : Guohong Hydrogen Energy and its strategic partners successfully completed the delivery of 14 49-ton hydrogen-powered heavy trucks in Ejin Horo Banner, Ordos City.

Anhui Tomorrow Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd.: Signed an order for 500 hydrogen-powered heavy trucks with Dadaoxing New Energy Company at the 2025 World Manufacturing Convention.

Hydrogen Air Tech : Hydrogen Air Tech's Hydrogen Xuan 4 drone successfully completed the delivery and training for a million-level order from State Grid in Heilongjiang and Hunan.

(II) Enterprise Dynamics

Beiben Trucks : Beiben Trucks signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with China Henan International Group in Zhengzhou, and the two sides held discussions on strengthening strategic cooperation and deepening business collaboration.

Dongfang Electric: Dongfang Electric successfully implemented a Hong Kong stock placement, issuing 68 million new H-shares to the capital market at a placement price of 15.92 Hong Kong dollars per share, raising a total of approximately 1.083 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Xieqing New Energy: Xieqing New Energy successfully completed high-altitude test flights of hydrogen-powered drones on the Qinghai Plateau and high-temperature test flights in Turpan, Xinjiang, with multiple models of hydrogen-powered drones.

Pengfei Group: Six new-type hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck models under its Dongfeng Teqi Zhizi brand series were officially launched and debuted at the Shiyan International Convention and Exhibition Center in Hubei Province.

Hyzon Motors: launched a 3MW fuel cell power generation system.

Hyzon Motors: Hyzon Motors signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Indian engineering giant Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL). Over the next 10 years, the two parties will jointly promote the commercial application of hydrogen-powered rail vehicles in the Indian market.

III. Technological Advancements: Breakthroughs in Efficiency and Cost

(I) Hydrogen Production, Storage, and Transportation Sector

Foshan Xianhu Laboratory: The industry's first "zero-carbon ammonia-fueled aluminum billet heating furnace" for aluminum extrusion production was released at Foshan Xianhu Laboratory. This equipment achieves zero-carbon operation in the aluminum processing heating stage, marking a significant step forward in the green transformation of China's aluminum processing industry.

Shougang Group Co., Ltd.: successfully developed a full series of hydrogen transmission pipeline steels, including B/X42/X52/X60/X65MH, overcoming six key technical bottlenecks such as hydrogen embrittlement damage and low-temperature toughness, and formed a relatively complete product matrix for hydrogen transmission pipeline steels.

Bao Shishun (Qinhuangdao) Steel Pipe Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of CNPC: successfully trial-produced multiple specifications of "longitudinal submerged arc welded pipes" (D610x12.7/14.3mm, material/X60MH) for pure hydrogen transportation.

SPIC Central Research Institute: The hydrogen storage and transportation team of the Advanced Low-Carbon Institute developed a large-diameter (DN150), high-pressure (10MPa) non-metallic flexible hydrogen transmission pipeline, which achieved safe and stable operation for 30 days on a test platform.

Offshore Oil Engineering Special Equipment Branch: The self-developed design achievement of a "cryogenic liquid hydrogen storage tank" for deep-sea floating platforms received the Principle Approval (AIP) certificate from the China Classification Society (CCS), signifying that the achievement's safety and reliability fully comply with the classification society's standards.

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences: Made a breakthrough in alkaline electrolyzer membrane technology: developed an ultra-thin (20μm) composite separator, increasing the electrolysis system efficiency to 85% (LHV) with a lifespan exceeding 60,000 hours.

(II) Fuel Cell Technology/Product Updates

Dongfang Electric Corporation: launched its first 15MW pure hydrogen gas turbine.

CIMC ENRIC: The first marine methanol supply skid developed by its Jingmen Hongtu company successfully passed the certification of the China Classification Society and obtained the CCS product certificate.

Hydrogen Green Power New Energy (Wuhan) Co., Ltd.:Micro landscaping sprinkler truck, equipped with a hydrogen internal combustion engine 2.0T power system and a built-in micro PEM hydrogen production device.

Liaoning General Aviation Academy:The RX4M, China's first four-seat electric-electric hybrid aircraft independently developed by the team of Academician Yang Fengtian at the Liaoning General Aviation Academy of Shenyang Aerospace University, successfully completed its maiden flight at Shenyang Faku Caihu Airport, contributing the "China Solution" to the global development of electric aircraft.

Dongfang Hydrogen Energy:Obtained a patent in the fuel cell technology field for a system that improves the humidity of incoming stack air.

Georgia Power: The second hydrogen-natural gas blended fuel experiment for the M501GAC natural gas turbine, developed in cooperation with Mitsubishi Power, was announced to have been successfully completed under partial and full load conditions.

The US Hydrogen Energy Association (DoE) took the lead in establishing the "Hydrogen Refueling Station Compatibility Alliance": To unify the interface standard for 70MPa hydrogen refueling nozzles, eliminate hydrogen refueling protocol barriers for automakers such as Toyota, Hyundai, and Nikola, and promote interoperability of the hydrogen refueling network.