The Third Plenary Session is here, Halfway through the 14th Five Year Plan period, the hydrogen energy industry will face a new situation during the 15th Five Year Plan period!

Halfway through the 14th Five Year Plan period, China's hydrogen energy industry has achieved some results. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently held a press conference to clearly propose accelerating the development of green and low-carbon industries such as hydrogen energy, new energy storage, environmental protection equipment, green intelligent computing, and smart microgrids, and continuously creating new competitive advantages in the industry.

The development of the hydrogen energy industry is facing new opportunities and challenges. How to layout during the "15th Five Year Plan" period?

1、 The new situation that the hydrogen energy industry will face during the 15th Five Year Plan period

（1） Hydrogen energy has a more prominent role in reducing carbon emissions

More than 140 countries and regions around the world have committed to carbon neutrality and have successively released timetables and roadmaps. Major countries have identified 2030 as an important timeline and set phased carbon reduction targets. By 2030, the carbon emissions of the European Union should be reduced by 55% compared to 1990, the United States by 50% to 52% compared to 2005, and Japan by 46% compared to 2013. China also promises to strive to achieve carbon peak before 2030. The 15th Five Year Plan period is an important milestone for countries to achieve their phased carbon reduction targets. Hydrogen energy, as a source rich, green and low-carbon energy with wide applications, is regarded by countries as an important lever to promote large-scale decarbonization and reduction in transportation, industry, construction and other fields. The EU has taken the lead in setting the proportion of hydrogen substitution, and by 2030, 42% of industrial hydrogen should come from renewable hydrogen and its derivatives, and 1.2% of aviation fuel should come from green hydrogen synthetic fuels. The International Maritime Organization stipulates that by 2030, the utilization rate of green fuels in international shipping should be increased to 5% to 10%. To ensure the timely achievement of carbon reduction targets, the demand for hydrogen energy in various countries, industries, and fields will accelerate, bringing new opportunities for the development of the hydrogen energy industry.

（2） Hydrogen energy will play an important role as long-term energy storage

With the large-scale and high proportion of wind and solar power integration into the power grid, the pressure of renewable energy consumption in China is gradually emerging. The utilization rate of wind or photovoltaic power in some areas has been consistently below 95%, breaking through the consumption red line, and the development of long-term energy storage is urgently needed. At present, the peak shaving time for new energy distribution and storage in Gansu, Inner Mongolia and other places has reached 4 hours. During the 15th Five Year Plan period, it is expected that the peak shaving time of new energy storage will gradually increase from the current 2-4 hours to 6-8 hours. In large-scale and long-term application scenarios, the advantages of hydrogen energy storage will gradually emerge. On the one hand, hydrogen energy storage capacity is easy to expand. By increasing hydrogen storage tanks to expand energy storage capacity, the energy storage scale and cycle can be increased at a lower marginal cost. On the other hand, hydrogen energy storage has flexible and diverse application scenarios. Solid state hydrogen storage technology can be used for user side energy storage, and alcohol ammonia hydrogen storage, salt cavern hydrogen storage, etc. can be used for large-scale cross seasonal energy storage on the power supply side and grid side. With the deepening of technology research and development demonstrations, hydrogen storage is expected to achieve industrial application, accelerate integration with electricity and heat energy, and become an important carrier for large-scale and efficient utilization of renewable energy.

（3） Hydrogen energy injects strong impetus into industrial development

The hydrogen energy industry has high technological content and strong driving ability, and is a key development direction for cutting-edge emerging industries. More than 50 countries and regions around the world have released national hydrogen energy strategies, seizing the opportunity to compete in the industry. In the past two years, the European Union has accelerated the construction of hydrogen energy regulatory rules, while the United States has heavily subsidized its domestic hydrogen energy industry chain, leading to increasingly fierce competition in the global hydrogen energy industry. China has also released a medium - and long-term plan for the development of the hydrogen energy industry, which clarifies the positioning, development goals, and task path of the hydrogen energy industry, and the top-level design has been preliminarily formed. This year's Government Work Report proposes to accelerate the development of cutting-edge emerging hydrogen energy industries. During the 15th Five Year Plan period, it is expected that various departments and regions will accelerate the formulation of supporting policies and measures related to hydrogen energy, standardize management, increase support, gradually improve the "1+N" policy system for industrial development, and further optimize the industrial development environment. At the same time, experience and practices such as hydrogen production in non chemical industrial parks, cancellation of hazardous chemical management requirements for hydrogen energy projects, and clarification of approval and acceptance processes for hydrogen energy projects are expected to be promoted on a larger scale, providing strong support for the development of the hydrogen energy industry.

（4） Hydrogen energy will enter a new stage of accelerated development

China is the world's largest producer of renewable energy, producer of steel and chemicals, consumer of automobiles, and shipowner. Developing the hydrogen energy industry has the advantages of abundant green power resources and a huge market size. In recent years, with the joint efforts of "government, industry, academia, research, and funding", hydrogen energy technology innovation has achieved remarkable results, with increasingly diverse application scenarios, accelerated establishment of the hydrogen energy industry chain, and remarkable achievements in the development of the hydrogen energy industry. The main indicators of fuel cells have reached the international advanced level, and large-scale hydrogen projects with a capacity of 10000 tons in multiple fields such as metallurgy and synthetic methanol have achieved engineering demonstrations. The total installed capacity of hydrogen electrolysis cells has exceeded 600000 kilowatts, becoming the world's largest. During the 15th Five Year Plan period, with the continuous improvement of the foundation of the hydrogen energy industry, China's hydrogen energy industry will enter a stage of accelerated development, gradually transforming the inherent advantages of resources and markets from both ends into an acquired advantage of a virtuous cycle of "resources industry market".

2、 Development ideas and goals for the hydrogen energy industry during the 15th Five Year Plan period

（1） Development ideas

Firmly grasp the strategic positioning of hydrogen energy as an important component of the future national energy system, an important carrier for green and low-carbon transformation of energy terminals, and a key development direction for cutting-edge emerging industries. In accordance with the overall deployment of the "Medium - and Long Term Plan for the Development of the Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021-2035)", combined with the new development situation during the "15th Five Year Plan" period, with the goal of high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry and carbon reduction demand as the guide, promote technological innovation in the hydrogen energy industry by classification, orderly carry out hydrogen energy demonstration applications, adapt to local conditions and circumstances, lay out clean and low-carbon hydrogen supply, focus on improving the development system and policies of the hydrogen energy industry, promote the hydrogen energy industry from having to being excellent, and the hydrogen energy industry chain from weak to strong, cultivate the hydrogen energy industry into a new driving force for China's industrial upgrading. Growth points, promoting the development of new quality productive forces, in order to advance new industrialization Building a modern industrial system provides strong support.

（2） Development Goals

By 2030, a relatively complete institutional and policy environment for the development of the hydrogen energy industry, a relatively complete technological innovation system for the hydrogen energy industry, and a clean, low-carbon, and efficient hydrogen energy supply system will be established. A relatively complete hydrogen energy supply chain and industrial system will be established, with a reasonable and orderly industrial layout, a significant increase in industrial scale, widespread application of clean and low-carbon hydrogen, and strong support for achieving the carbon peak goal.

3、 Key issues to be addressed in the development of the hydrogen energy industry during the 15th Five Year Plan period

（1） How to improve the economic efficiency of hydrogen energy technology?

The hydrogen energy industry as a whole is in the early stages of development, with high costs in various links of the industry chain. The comprehensive cost of renewable energy hydrogen production is about 2-4 times that of fossil energy hydrogen production. The construction and operation costs of hydrogen refueling stations are 4 times and 7 times that of traditional gas stations, respectively. The purchase and use costs of fuel cell vehicles are 1.5 to 2 times and 3 to 4 times that of pure electric vehicles, respectively. The cost of green ammonia is 2 to 3 times that of ordinary ammonia. Compared with other energy sources, the competitiveness of the hydrogen energy market is significantly insufficient.

During the 15th Five Year Plan period, it is recommended to focus on improving the economic viability of hydrogen energy technology from three aspects: technology, models, and policies. One is to accelerate technological innovation. In response to the concentrated areas of weaknesses and shortcomings, we will organize and carry out key core technology research and development of hydrogen energy through new mechanisms such as application traction, leading by example, and racing to the top. We will reduce costs through technological progress and domestic substitution. The second is to accelerate mode innovation. Carry out the integrated production mode of "wind solar hydrogen storage+" in the large base, explore the comprehensive application mode of "hydrogen energy logistics transportation+hydrogen based product production" in the heavy chemical industry cluster area, support hydrogen refueling stations to adopt on-site hydrogen production and refueling mode, and reduce costs through mode optimization and efficiency improvement. The third is to accelerate policy innovation. In some local areas, we will take the lead in exploring supportive policies such as electricity price discounts, green hydrogen production incentives, and road rights incentives. We will break through policy bottlenecks such as hydrogen production in non chemical industrial parks and safety production permits for hydrogen hazardous chemicals. We will also explore green hydrogen trading, hydrogen storage participation in electricity market trading, and market-oriented trading of hydrogen energy and carbon emissions reduction, and reduce costs through institutional arrangements.

（2） How to improve the completeness of the hydrogen energy industry chain?

China's hydrogen energy development started relatively late, and there are still many shortcomings and weaknesses in the industrial chain. There are few domestic production enterprises in some technically difficult industrial chain nodes such as carbon paper and high-end catalysts, and the dependence on foreign countries is high; The maturity of technologies such as hydrogen metallurgy and solid-state hydrogen storage is low, and there is a significant gap between them and the demand for industrial applications.

During the 15th Five Year Plan period, it is recommended to carry out a special action to strengthen and supplement the hydrogen energy industry chain, starting from key entities such as enterprises, platforms, and clusters, to accelerate the improvement of weaknesses and strengthen the initiative for development. One is to promote the innovative and integrated development of hydrogen energy enterprises. Support leading enterprises to form innovation alliances with industry advantages, organize and implement the "listing" of large enterprises and the "unveiling" of small and medium-sized enterprises, and work together to overcome a number of industrial and technological challenges. Cultivate the "chain owner" enterprises in the hydrogen energy sub industry chain, and drive the collaborative development of "chain affiliated" enterprises. The second is to build an innovation platform and public service platform for the hydrogen energy industry, supporting the development of key hydrogen technologies, pilot testing, and engineering applications, and enhancing the service capabilities of hydrogen energy industry inspection and testing, information services, and innovation achievement transformation. The third is to cultivate hydrogen energy industry clusters. Guide various regions to optimize the layout of hydrogen energy industrial parks based on resource endowments and industrial foundations, form a specialized, differentiated, and distinctive development path, and avoid low-level redundant construction. Strengthen inter regional industrial cooperation, upstream and downstream supporting cooperation, achieve efficient integration of the hydrogen energy industry chain, and form a number of high-level hydrogen energy industry clusters.

（3） How to establish a clean low-carbon hydrogen supply system?

Under the requirements of the carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets, clean and low-carbon has become an inevitable requirement for the development of the hydrogen energy industry. The United States, Japan, and Germany have comprehensively upgraded their national hydrogen energy strategies and significantly increased their green hydrogen production targets, with a total green hydrogen production capacity of 13.5 million tons by 2030. The hydrogen source structure in our country is relatively black, with fossil fuels accounting for about 80% of hydrogen production, industrial by-product hydrogen accounting for about 20%, and renewable energy hydrogen production accounting for only 10000 tons, less than one thousandth. It is urgent to increase the scale of clean low-carbon hydrogen supply.

During the 15th Five Year Plan period, it is recommended to take clean low-carbon hydrogen standards as the guide and develop industrial by-product hydrogen purification and renewable energy hydrogen production according to local conditions. One is to establish a clean low-carbon hydrogen standard certification system. Make good use of the standard "baton", develop clean low-carbon hydrogen (ammonia, alcohol) terminology standards, lifecycle carbon emission accounting methods, and carbon footprint certification methods that are suitable for China's national conditions and in line with international standards, and guide the transformation of high carbon emission hydrogen production processes to green hydrogen production processes. The second is to improve the utilization level of industrial by-product hydrogen. Fully leverage the advantages of clean, low-carbon, low-cost, stable supply, and wide distribution of industrial by-product hydrogen, promote the construction of a number of large-scale purification demonstration projects for by-product hydrogen in industries such as coking, chlor alkali, and propane dehydrogenation, and enhance the supply capacity of high-quality clean and low-carbon hydrogen. The third is to actively develop hydrogen production from renewable energy sources. Both centralized and distributed renewable energy hydrogen production should be carried out simultaneously, and centralized renewable energy hydrogen production projects should be planned and reasonably promoted to accelerate breakthroughs in key technologies such as hydrogen electricity coupling, system integration, and cluster control. Carry out on-site hydrogen production and storage from renewable energy sources at hydrogen refueling stations as a supplement to stable and economical hydrogen supply. Layout offshore wind power for hydrogen production to alleviate the pressure of clean low-carbon hydrogen supply in the southeast coastal areas in the future.

（4） How to promote the large-scale application of hydrogen energy?

The demonstration application of hydrogen energy in China is led by fuel cell vehicles, which have gained certain market demand and sales continue to grow. However, the hydrogen consumption of fuel cell vehicles is relatively low, and it is expected that by 2030, China's hydrogen energy consumption for vehicles will only be about 300000 to 400000 tons per year, which is difficult to promote the green and low-carbon transformation of the huge energy system. It is urgent to explore new paths for the large-scale application of hydrogen energy.

During the 15th Five Year Plan period, it is recommended to take the industrial sector as a breakthrough point, application scenarios as a driving force, and supply-demand linkage as a path to orderly enhance the large-scale hydrogen consumption capacity of key industries. One is to expand the industrial scale hydrogen use scenarios. Focusing on key industries such as petroleum refining, synthetic ammonia, synthetic methanol, aviation fuel, and steel, accelerating technological development, and forming a number of application scenarios with hydrogen consumption of tens of thousands to tens of thousands of tons per individual project. The second is to carry out comprehensive hydrogen energy demonstration applications. Support the development of integrated demonstration applications for hydrogen energy supply and consumption, and promote the implementation of large-scale hydrogen use scenarios. Explore the establishment of regional hydrogen energy centers, promote the coordinated development of multiple hydrogen production pathways, storage and transportation methods, and application scenarios, and form mature hydrogen energy large-scale application system solutions. The third is to promote the orderly utilization of clean and low-carbon carbon in the industry. Based on the development stages of different industries, the demand for carbon reduction, and the progress of hydrogen energy utilization technology, timely propose industry-specific requirements for the proportion of clean low-carbon hydrogen utilization, and implement them one by one to release the hydrogen demand of the industry in a hierarchical manner.

（5） How to cultivate the hydrogen energy industry as a new growth point for exports?

The global hydrogen energy industry has entered the eve of an outbreak, and it is expected that by 2030, it will give rise to a 100 gigawatt level hydroelectric tank market and a 10 million ton level green energy market. China has established significant production capacity and cost advantages in products such as alkaline electrolysis cells, and has a certain foundation for participating in international competition. We should seize the opportunity of global green and low-carbon transformation, and cultivate hydrogen energy as a new export growth point after the "new three types" of foreign trade in new energy vehicles, solar cells, and lithium batteries.

During the 15th Five Year Plan period, it is recommended to focus on products with good domestic foundations and sufficient international demand, such as water electrolysis cells and hydrogen based green energy, deepen trade cooperation, optimize production capacity layout, participate in rule making, and actively build the external circulation value chain of China's hydrogen energy industry. One is to strengthen cooperation with regions with complementary advantages such as the Middle East and South America. Utilize the resource advantages of these regions and China's equipment manufacturing advantages to carry out cooperation in hydrogen production equipment trade and hydrogen infrastructure construction. Secondly, timely layout of overseas production capacity. Guide enterprises to have a reasonable and diversified global layout, establish a diversified supply chain system, and proactively respond to the localization requirements of hydrogen energy industry chains in Europe, America, and other regions. Thirdly, actively participate in the formulation of international rules. Guide enterprises to adjust their technological focus and develop hydrogen energy equipment products that meet international market requirements. Promote mutual recognition of relevant standards and rules, participate in and lead the formulation of relevant international standards and rules, and actively strive for the voice of the hydrogen energy industry.