Executive Viewpoint

T. MASON, Bramble Energy, Crawley, England 

There is no denying that China has ambitious hydrogen (H₂) goals, including plans for fuel cell vehicles, green H₂ production and critical infrastructure development. However, you would be forgiven for not knowing much about it, given that China’s H₂ efforts are infrequently reported by the Western media.  

China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of H₂, and while other countries’ long-term corporate commitment to H₂ may be waning, China’s commitment has grown. As one of the top three greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters globally, the country has a lot of work to do to move away from fossil fuels; however, China also seems more willing to quickly invest where it is needed. 

The country’s H₂ fuel cell industry—particularly in the mobility sector—is developing and expanding at an enormous rate compared to other nations. China is also showing substantial resource commitment to green H₂, accounting for 60% of electrolyzer manufacturing capacity in 2023.¹ 

In fact, the Chinese government has outlined a medium- and long-term development plan for H₂ (spanning 2021─2035). By the end of 2025, the country aims to have 50,000 H₂ fuel cell vehicles on the road, supported by an expanding network of H₂ refueling stations. China is very likely to achieve this target, with current growth signifying that from 2015─2023, the cumulative production and sales of fuel cell vehicles in China have reached 18,494 and 18,096 vehicles, respectively, achieving 36.19% of the targeted 50,000 vehicles by the end of 2025.² 

The plan also targets green H₂ production using renewable feedstocks to reach 100,000 metric tons per year (tpy)–200,000 tpy by 2025, with applications extending beyond transport to energy storage, electricity generation and industrial processes.  

Compare this to the UK—which only has seven H₂ filling stations, a reduction from the 10 that existed in March 2022—and China’s scale, coordination and speed serve as a powerful benchmark. 

China’s commitment to H₂ is one of the world’s biggest and has shown a clear focus on aggressive scaling. This has been demonstrated historically with the country’s 5-yr plans, the fact that H₂ has a clearly defined strategy and pressure applied through the national ownership of businesses. It seems likely that China will achieve its target and potentially even surpass it with regional competition driving momentum—a huge contrast to most other nations' plans, which for now are just numbers on pieces of paper.  

For example, ambitious targets set in countries like the UK and U.S. have struggled, especially with recent fundamental changes in government and policy. These factors have always hampered long-term action, with commitments completely dictated by 4-yr political cycles. Considering decades of environmental degradation, this is a blink of an eye. Australia, with its abundant renewable energy resources, has also seen the benefit of being ambitious with H₂ production targets but has already had to scale back after facing high production costs, infrastructure bottlenecks, and regulatory and policy challenges, all of which have slowed progress.

What can the rest of the world learn from China’s strategy as they position themselves as a leader in the global H₂ economy? One of the biggest areas in which China succeeds is that there is no argument within the country’s strategy as to what should come first. While other nations have struggled to even commit to what should be given the most investments and resources (e.g., fuel cell vehicles or the infrastructure to support them), China has focused on putting the right resources in place—including subsidies into rapid scaling across the board—so it can all come to fruition together. A similar trajectory is seen in the solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind industries, which China continues to lead.  

Partial national ownership is also a huge help in this scenario to make it clear to companies what must be done. Regional competition is another factor: local competition drives innovation and deployment for the national interest. China has also focused on renewable-rich parts of the country like Inner Mongolia and Gansu to deliver most of the green H₂ projects where it makes the most sense with their strong solar PV and wind potential. For instance, Inner Mongolia is aiming for 480,000 tpy of renewable H₂ production by 2025, while Gansu has set a target of 200,000 tpy.³ 

Energy sovereignty is also a key driver. For many years, China has pursued policies linked to energy independence. The country has leveraged its strength in manufacturing to dominate the electrolyzer and renewable energy markets in stark contrast to countries that have (and still) rely heavily on imports.  

What is worth highlighting when it comes to China’s commitment to H₂ that other nations might be able to replicate is that its progress in H₂ is not technologically driven. Most of the technology the country is implementing is legacy derived from working with companies outside its borders. However, what we have seen is China knows how to quickly industrialize technology, which historically others have been unable to imitate at the same scale.  

China is already the leading exporter of alkaline electrolyzers. Ultimately, a game is being played that will determine who will be the next energy superpower. While China holds an early lead in industrialization and scaling within the H₂ sector, it has not yet established itself as a leader in innovation. Countries like Japan have recognized this gap and are pursuing advanced H₂ strategies that could give them a competitive edge. The rest of the world needs to wake up to this. If other nations fail to act decisively, they risk becoming heavily reliant on Chinese technology as the energy transition away from fossil fuels accelerates. H₂T

About the author 

TOM MASON is the CEO at Bramble Energy and an experienced engineer with a demonstrated history of developing and commercializing novel high-impact technologies with a global reach. His developments include a revolutionary advance in H₂ fuel cells. After completing his PhD at London Global University (UCL) in 2013, Dr. Mason led the engineering and manufacturing development of the innovative printed circuit board fuel cell (PCBFC) as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. As a co-founder of Bramble Energy, he joined the company as a Director and Chief Technology Officer when the company spun-out of UCL and Imperial College in 2016 before taking up the role of CEO in September 2017.   

With more than 10 yr of electrochemistry experience, Dr. Mason is the foremost authority and a recognized world expert of all things PCBFC. Since his appointment as CEO, he has brought a fresh and dynamic approach to Bramble Energy and led the company through a successful Series A funding round during these most challenging times. Under his stewardship, Bramble Energy has achieved exponential growth and is now in the position to scale up to its largest competitors.

LITERATURE CITED 

¹ IEA, “Global Hydrogen Review 2024,” 2024, online: https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2024, Licence: CC BY 4.0 

² Fuel Cell Works, “China’s fuel cell vehicle market shows significant growth in 2023,” January 2024, online: https://fuelcellsworks.com/news/chinas-fuel-cell-vehicle-market-shows-significant-growth-in-2023 

³ RystadEnergy, “China set to smash national hydrogen targets, solidifying lead in global electrolyzer market,” June 2024, online: https://www.rystadenergy.com/news/china-hydrogen-targets