New Energies, new possibilities

Chinese car companies are planning on boosting hydrogen fuel cell vehicle sales – a niche category in the world’s largest car market. Government officials are expected to announce supportive policies as early as this month.

The largest carmaker from the People’s Republic, SAIC Motor, wants to sell over 10,000 hydrogen fuel cell models by the year 2025, as reported by Reuters.

Meanwhile, commercial vehicle-maker Beiqi Foton Motor (a BAIC unit) is aiming for 4,000 hydrogen vehicles by 2023, before raising the bar to 15,000 units by 2025.

Read Also: Toyota Teams Up With Five Chinese Automakers To Develop Fuel Cells For Commercial Vehicles

These announcements came after a finance ministry official stated that China will begin rolling out new policies to support this technology. China has a relatively small fleet of hydrogen vehicles at just over 7,000 – compared to more than 4 million fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars.

The new policies will require local city governments and companies to build up the infrastructure, setting up a more mature supply chain and business model. As for the pilot cities, they will likely include Beijing, Shanghai, as well as those in the northern Shanxi and eastern Jiangsu provinces, according to sources who declined to give their names.

At the same time, global brands such as Toyota and Hyundai have already announced plans for hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles in China. Furthermore, the Japanese carmaker will work alongside no fewer than five major Chinese companies in Beijing Automobile Group, FAW, Beijing SinoHytec, Dongfeng Motor and Guangzhou Automobile Group to develop fuel cells that will be used in commercial vehicles.

Hongqi H5 FCEV pictured 

https://www.carscoops.com/2020/09/chinese-carmakers-would-like-to-sell-more-hydrogen-fuel-cell-models/

BEIJING — Chinese automakers have announced plans to increase sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, a niche segment in the world's biggest auto market, and the government is expected to announce supportive new policies, possibly as early as this month.

SAIC Motor, China's biggest automaker, which has partnerships with Volkswagen and General Motors, said on Sunday it plans to sell over 10,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2025.

Commercial vehicle maker Beiqi Foton Motor, a BAIC unit, said last week it aims to sell 4,000 hydrogen vehicles by 2023, and 15,000 such vehicles by 2025.

The announcements came after a finance ministry official said earlier in September that China will roll out a new package of policies to support hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

China now has a fleet of just over 7,000 hydrogen vehicles, compared with over 4 million pure battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Current policies to support electric vehicles offer subsidies on sales. But new supportive policies will require local city governments and companies to build up a more mature supply chain and business model for the industry. Three industry sources familiar with policy discussions said authorities could announce a new policy as early as this month.

Pilot cities will likely include Beijing, Shanghai, as well as cities in northern Shanxi and eastern Jiangsu provinces, according to sources, who declined to be named as the issue is not public.

The Finance Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some global automakers from Toyota to Hyundai have already announced plans for hydrogen vehicles in China

https://www.autoblog.com/2020/09/14/hydrogen-vehicle-sales-china/

Beijing SinoHytec Co Ltd began trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market on Monday at a public offering price of 76.65 yuan (US$11) per share.

The share price of the first Chinese hydrogen fuel cell engine company to list on the board surged 144.12 percent and SinoHytec closed at 187.12 yuan, with an intraday high of 261.11 yuan.

Fuel-cell vehicles use a fuel cell instead of a battery. Automotive fuel cells generate electricity to power a motor, generally using oxygen and compressed hydrogen.

China is actively promoting the development of the hydrogen fuel cell industry. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that hydrogen cars are an important technological route which will coexist with the development of electric vehicles.

Compared with traditional gasoline vehicles, fuel-cell vehicles are said to have short refueling times, a long cruising range and are pollution-free.

In April this year, four ministries and commissions issued a notice to promote the development of new-energy vehicles. It said that China will strive to establish a hydrogen and fuel cell vehicle industry chain in around four years. The country will make breakthroughs in key core technologies and form a good industry layout and coordinated development, it said.

SinoHytec cautioned investors about the risks of the hydrogen fuel cell sector in an announcement. It said that the penetration rate of fuel-cell vehicles is currently relatively low in China. The sector is in the early stages of industrialization, with the high cost of fuel cell stations and the immaturity of key technologies.

In 2019, sales of fuel-cell vehicles in the Chinese market totalled 2,737 units, a relatively small figure compared with the 1.2 million new-energy vehicles sold across the country.

Founded in 2012, SinoHytec is a high-tech enterprise focusing on research and development as well as manufacturing of hydrogen fuel cell engines and related products such as fuel cell stacks, hydrogen systems and test platforms.

The company's products are mainly used in commercial vehicles such as passenger cars and logistics vehicles. Its fuel cell products are used in vehicles from automakers such as Zhengzhou Yutong Group Co, Shanghai Shenlong Bus Co and Foton Motor.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market, which was launched in July last year, is seen as a foundation for deepened reforms in China's A-share market, as well as an attractive market for high-profile Chinese tech companies to list at home.

https://www.shine.cn/biz/auto/2008103880/

【7月27日 Xinhua News】中・日両国が水素エネルギー分野を中心に協力する「中日（上海）地方発展協力モデル区」がこのほど、中国の上海自由貿易試験区臨港新エリア内に設置された。

　第1期エリアは奉賢パークに建設され、敷地面積は約107ヘクタール。日本の住宅設備機器メーカー長州産業と自動車部品製造のサムテックが24日、水素の製造装置や貯蔵設備の製造に関するプロジェクトを巡り、パークの運営・管理を手掛ける上海臨港奉賢経済発展と提携契約を結んだ。

　上海臨港奉賢経済発展の鄒林昆（Zou Linkun）董事長によると、今年下半期（7～12月）には臨港新エリア内に水素ステーションの第1号が完成する予定となっている。

「中日水素エネルギー産業連盟」も24日、発足した。水素エネルギーのサプライチェーンに関する研究開発や製造、運営サービスを手掛けるほか、基礎研究機関や部品サプライヤーなどにも参加を呼び掛け、的を絞った効果的なマッチングのための協力プラットフォームを構築する。

　臨港新エリア管理委員会の朱芝松（Zhu Zhisong）常務副主任は、同モデル区について、上海と長江デルタの既存のプロジェクトを足掛かりに、中日両国の主要な関連企業の誘致を強化し、水素エネルギー産業の集積地を形成していくと説明した。

　国家発展改革委員会はこれに先立ち、成都（Chengdu）、天津（Tianjin）、大連（Dalian）、上海、蘇州（Suzhou）、青島（Qingdao）の6市に「中日地方発展協力モデル区」の建設を承認しており、同モデル区は、そのうちの一つになる。(c)Xinhua News/AFPBB News

https://https://www.afpbb.com/articles/-/3295848