Recently, the Comprehensive Department of the National Energy Administration issued the 2026 plan for the formulation and revision of industry standards in the energy sector, along with the plan for translating foreign-language versions. A total of 849 standard formulation projects, 450 standard revision projects, and 56 foreign-language translation projects were released, of which 39 standard projects involve the hydrogen energy sector, covering the entire industry chain, including green fuels, hydrogen production by electrolysis, hydrogen transmission pipelines, hydrogen energy storage, and fuel cells.
Green fuels and certification: green aviation fuel, green methanol, and green synthetic ammonia
In the field of green fuels, this plan includes three standards: green aviation fuel, technical specifications for the sustainability certification of green methanol, and technical specifications for the sustainability certification of green synthetic ammonia. These are led by entities such as Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum Processing Co., Ltd. and the Biomass Energy Industry Branch of the China Association for the Promotion of Industrial Development, providing a technical basis for the evaluation and certification of green and low-carbon fuels.
Hydrogen production by electrolysis: full-process coverage from material testing to engineering construction
The field of hydrogen production by electrolysis is a key focus of this round of standard planning, covering multiple levels including material testing, equipment performance, system control, and engineering construction:
- Material and component testing : includes accelerated aging test methods for proton exchange membranes, test methods for membrane electrode assemblies in anion exchange membrane water electrolysis, test methods for bipolar plate characteristics in alkaline electrolyzers, test methods for metal-based porous transport layers in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers, and test methods for ionomers and their dispersions used in proton exchange membrane fuel cell membrane electrodes, among others.
- Systems and equipment : includes technical guidelines for control and protection of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis hydrogen production systems, technical requirements for stationary proton exchange membrane fuel cell power generation systems, technical specifications for solid oxide fuel cell combined heat and power supply systems, and technical specifications for solid oxide electrolyzer cell systems, among others.
- Engineering construction specifications : includes supervision specifications for renewable energy power-based hydrogen production engineering construction, procedures for preparing energy conservation reports, regulations on the depth of construction drawing design content, quality management procedures, and technical guidelines for carbon monitoring systems, led by entities such as the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute and PowerChina New Energy Group.
Hydrogen transmission pipelines: full-chain standards from design and construction to operation and maintenance
The field of hydrogen transmission pipelines has the densest concentration of standards, involving nearly 10 standards in total, including technical specifications for metering systems of hydrogen transmission pipelines, design guidelines for retrofitting natural gas pipelines for hydrogen-blended transmission, test methods for compatibility of metallic materials with liquid hydrogen, specifications for construction and acceptance of hydrogen transmission pipeline projects, operation specifications for hydrogen transmission pipelines, design specifications for instrumentation and control systems of hydrogen transmission pipelines, full-scale test methods for load-bearing capacity of hydrogen transmission steel pipes, engineering design standards for liquid hydrogen transmission pipelines, and guidelines for safety risk assessment of hydrogen transmission pipelines. These are mainly led by relevant entities under PipeChina.
In addition, design specifications for gas supply engineering of hydrogen-blended natural gas for heating and industrial users, technical requirements for hydrogen venting, and engineering technical standards for hydrogen storage tank areas are also included in this plan.
Hydrogen energy storage and fuel cell power stations: standardizing project construction and safety evaluation
The hydrogen energy storage field includes standards such as guidelines for environmental impact assessment of hydrogen energy storage power stations, procedures for preparing feasibility study reports for hydrogen energy storage power stations, and procedures for safety pre-evaluation of hydrogen fuel cell power stations, providing specifications for the preliminary work and safety management of hydrogen energy storage projects.
Emerging applications and data management: hydrogen-powered UAVs, integrated wind-solar-hydrogen systems, and salt cavern hydrogen storage
In the field of emerging applications, this plan includes standards such as technical specifications for electric hydrogen-powered multi-rotor UAVs, test methods for integrating wind-solar-hydrogen integrated systems into the power grid, design guidelines for renewable energy power-based synthetic ammonia engineering, design guidelines for salt cavern hydrogen storage facilities, and methods for measuring surface natural hydrogen concentration.
In terms of data management, two standards—specifications for data classification and grading in the hydrogen energy industry and specifications for secure and trustworthy data management in the hydrogen energy industry—are led by entities such as Guoneng Hydrogen Innovation Technology, aiming to standardize the classification, grading, and security management of data across the hydrogen energy industry chain.
The concentrated rollout of these 39 hydrogen energy standards will provide solid standard support for the standardized and large-scale development of China's hydrogen energy industry, covering the entire chain of hydrogen production, storage and transportation, refueling, and application, and helping drive the high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry.
