On August 11, China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) released the China Hydrogen Energy Development Report 2026. The report provides a detailed review of the progress of China’s hydrogen industry in 2025 and outlines the key challenges facing the sector as well as its near-term development priorities.
This article summarizes the sections of the report covering the development of China’s hydrogen industry in 2025, including:
Key national-level hydrogen policies issued in 2025
China’s hydrogen production capacity, output, and production pathways in 2025
China’s hydrogen consumption and downstream demand structure in 2025
Renewable hydrogen projects — capacity launched and under construction
Hydrogen liquefaction projects and capacity — commissioned and under construction
Pure hydrogen long-distance pipelines — completed and under construction
Hydrogen refueling stations
Hydrogen prices in China — ex-plant and retail prices for vehicle use
Progress in transportation
Progress in industrial decarbonization
Progress in power generation
R&D and deployment of hydrogen equipment
International cooperations
Development of the hydrogen industry standards system
This is a very detailed and practical report and an essential handbook for anyone studying China’s hydrogen industry.
1. Major National-Level Hydrogen Policies Issued in 2025
The Guadance of Promoting the Integrated Development of New Energy called for the diversified non-electric utilization of renewable energy and the development of integrated green hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol production bases.
Policies including the Notice on Deepening the Market-Oriented Reform of On-Grid Electricity Prices for New Energy to Promote High-Quality Development of New Energy and the Notice on Matters Concerning the Orderly Development of Direct Green Power Connections established pricing and trading mechanisms to support hydrogen production using green electricity.
The Notice on Launching the Development of Zero-Carbon Industrial Parks called for support for integrated hydrogen-power development and utilization.
The Implementation Opinions on Expanding Green Trade supported qualified regions in developing green ammonia and methanol bunkering and sustainable fuel trading.
Meanwhile, the Catalogue for the Promotion of Green Technologies and the Catalogue of Projects Supported by Green Finance included equipment manufacturing across the entire hydrogen value chain — production, storage, transportation, and utilization — as well as the construction and operation of hydrogen infrastructure within their scope of support, helping accelerate commercial deployment.
2. China’s Hydrogen Production Capacity, Output, and Production Pathways in 2025
By the end of 2025, China’s total hydrogen production capacity exceeded 51 million tons per year, up 1.4% year on year, while annual hydrogen production exceeded 39 million tons, representing year-on-year growth of approximately 7.3%.
By production pathway:
Coal-based hydrogen production capacity reached 28.5 million tons per year, with actual production of 23 million tons.
Natural gas-based hydrogen production capacity reached 10.5 million tons per year, with actual production of 7.9 million tons.
Methanol-based hydrogen production capacity reached 600,000 tons per year, with actual production of 400,000 tons.
Industrial by-product hydrogen production capacity exceeded 11 million tons per year, up approximately 3.5% year on year, while actual production was approximately 7.7 million tons, broadly unchanged from the previous year.
3. China’s Hydrogen Consumption and Downstream Demand Structure in 2025
In terms of consumption structure, synthetic ammonia, synthetic methanol, oil refining, and coal chemical production remained the four largest hydrogen-consuming sectors.
Hydrogen consumption in these sectors was approximately:
10.5 million tons for synthetic ammonia
12.5 million tons for synthetic methanol
6 million tons for oil refining
4.1 million tons for coal chemicals
4. Renewable Hydrogen — Capacity Launched and Under Construction
China’s renewable hydrogen industry is gradually moving from demonstration toward large-scale development.
By the end of 2025, the combined capacity of launched and under-construction renewable hydrogen projects exceeded 1 million tons per year.
Of this total:
More than 250,000 tons per year had been completed and put into operation.
More than 900,000 tons per year was under construction.
Water electrolysis remained the dominant hydrogen production pathway.
5. Hydrogen Liquefaction Projects and Capacity
By the end of 2025, more than 20 hydrogen liquefaction projects had been planned or developed nationwide, representing a combined capacity of approximately 300 tons per day.
Among them, 11 projects had been completed and put into operation, with a combined capacity of approximately 60 tons per day.
6. Pure Hydrogen Long-distance Pipelines
China had planned more than 20 long-distance pure hydrogen pipelines, with a combined length exceeding 5,500 kilometers.
By the end of 2025, more than 350 kilometers of pure hydrogen pipelines had been completed and put into operation.
7. Hydrogen Refueling Stations
By the end of 2025, China had built more than 590 hydrogen refueling stations nationwide on a cumulatively.
8. Hydrogen Prices in China — Ex-Plant and Retail Prices
At the end of 2025, China’s average ex-plant hydrogen price was RMB 26.2/kg.
The average ex-plant price was:
RMB 25.1/kg in fuel cell vehicle demonstration city clusters
RMB 27.2/kg in regions outside the demonstration city clusters
These prices declined year on year by 6.7%, 7.9%, and 4.8%, respectively.
The national average retail hydrogen price was RMB 44.5/kg.
The average retail price was:
RMB 43.4/kg in fuel cell vehicle demonstration city clusters
RMB 46.1/kg in regions outside the demonstration city clusters
These prices declined year on year by 8.4%, 4.8%, and 14.4%, respectively.
9. Progress in Hydrogen Applications in Transportation
In 2025, nearly 8,000 fuel cell vehicles were deployed across China. Guangzhou, Tianjin, Lüliang, and several other cities had each achieved cumulative fleet deployment of more than 1,000 vehicles.
Liquid-hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks also began public-road testing.
In the maritime sector, several new types of hydrogen and hydrogen-derived-fuel vessels were completed and delivered, including:
Fuel cell-powered inland container vessels
Hydrogen-electric hybrid tugboats
Methanol dual-fuel container ships
A vessel powered by a pure-ammonia internal combustion engine also completed its maiden voyage.
By the end of 2025, more than 10 hydrogen-derived-fuel vessels had entered operation nationwide.
Exploration of hydrogen applications also accelerated in emerging segments such as low-altitude aviation, two-wheelers, and rail transportation.
A ton-class liquid-hydrogen-powered electric vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle (eVTOL UAV) successfully completed a test flight.
By the end of 2025:
More than 30 models of hydrogen-powered UAVs had been unveiled or test-flown nationwide.
Approximately 29,000 hydrogen-powered two-wheelers had been deployed.
More than 20 hydrogen-powered passenger trains, freight trains, and rubber-tired rail vehicles had rolled off production lines on a cumulative basis.
10. Progress in Industrial Decarbonization
The 150 MW integrated wind-solar hydrogen demonstration project in Duolun, Inner Mongolia, was commissioned, establishing a model for deep integration between renewable hydrogen production and the coal chemical industry.
In Yingkou, Liaoning Province, a pilot production line integrating green electricity, green hydrogen, and hydrogen metallurgy achieved full-process operation.
In Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, a near-zero-carbon steel production line using a short-process configuration combining a hydrogen-based shaft furnace and an electric arc furnace was completed.
11. Progress in Power Generation
China continued to explore both distributed and large-scale hydrogen applications in power generation.
Domestically developed fuel cell power generation equipment successfully generated electricity at China’s Qinling Station in Antarctica.
In Weifang, a 2.5 MW fuel cell combined heat and power demonstration project for an industrial park was completed.
Shenzhen commissioned a 300 kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) demonstration project.
In Inner Mongolia, a 30 MW pure-hydrogen gas turbine completed a pure-hydrogen power generation test.
In Sichuan, a megawatt-scale pilot project involving the co-firing of hydrogen/ammonia with coal achieved 100 consecutive hours of stable and clean combustion.
By the end of 2025, China had cumulatively built and operated more than 130 fuel cell power generation and combined heat and power projects, with total installed capacity exceeding 30 MW.
12. R&D and Deployments of Hydrogen Equipment
In hydrogen production:
Proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer systems achieved deployment at the 50 MW scale.
A megawatt-scale anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzer successfully completed testing.
In hydrogen storage and transportation:
A 10-tonne-per-day hydrogen liquefaction unit completed commissioning.
A 48,000 Nm³ solid-state hydrogen storage system was completed and put into operation.
A 15,000 Nm³ liquid organic hydrogen carrier storage system was also completed and commissioned.
In downstream applications:
A megawatt-scale pure-hydrogen gas turbine underwent full-load continuous-operation testing.
A hydrogen-ammonia dual-fuel gas turbine rolled off the production line, capable of flexibly switching among hydrogen, ammonia, natural gas, and other fuels.
By the end of 2025, cumulative hydrogen-related patent applications in China exceeded 100,000, accounting for approximately 30% of the global total, making China the world’s largest jurisdiction in terms of hydrogen-related patent applications.
13. International Cooperation in Hydrogen
In 2025, the model of China’s international hydrogen cooperation continued to evolve.
Cooperation expanded from a primary focus on equipment exports toward deeper engagement covering the entire hydrogen value chain, including trade in hydrogen-derived products, technology licensing, and project development, as Chinese companies increasingly participated in the global division of labor in the hydrogen industry.
Product Trade
China shipped:
5,000 tons of green methanol from Tianjin Port to Singapore
150 tons of green ammonia to Belgium
More than 10,000 tons of hydrogen-metallurgy products to Europe
China’s hydrogen-related exports are therefore expanding from individual equipment products toward higher-value-added green and low-carbon products.
Technology Licensing
Chinese electrolyzer manufacturers have begun developing China-Europe hydrogen equipment supply chains through a model combining Chinese technology exports with assembly in Europe, helping reduce overseas delivery costs and address trade barriers.
Chinese and British companies also signed a solid oxide fuel cell technology licensing agreement to jointly develop the Chinese market for hydrogen power generation technologies and equipment.
Project Cooperation
Chinese companies continued expanding their involvement in overseas hydrogen projects, participating in the front-end engineering design and construction of green hydrogen and ammonia projects in countries including Namibia and Saudi Arabia.
Chinese companies also cooperated with international partners to develop efficient hydrogen supply networks.
China-France joint-venture hydrogen supply bases were successively commissioned in Tianjin and Shanghai.
China’s international hydrogen cooperation has now progressed from technology R&D toward industrial-scale commercialization.
Core hydrogen equipment, including electrolyzers, fuel cells, and integrated hydrogen refueling equipment, has already been exported to more than 30 countries and regions.
14. Development of the Hydrogen Industry Standards System
China’s National Energy Administration established four technical standardization committees for the energy sector covering:
Fundamental and general hydrogen technologies
Hydrogen production
Hydrogen storage and transportation
Hydrogen applications
The Standardization Administration of China also launched a national standardization pilot project in the hydrogen sector to promote deeper integration between industrial innovation and standards development.
By the end of 2025, China had cumulatively issued:
146 national standards related to hydrogen
71 industry standards
61 local standards
More than 720 group/association standards
Major industry standards released in 2025 included the Clean and Low-Carbon Hydrogen Evaluation Standard, Green Ammonia, and Green Methanol.
These standards established a foundation for the certification of the green attributes of hydrogen and hydrogen-derived products and for the mutual recognition of standards internationally.
At the same time, Chinese companies have actively participated in the development and revision of international standards. China has achieved progress in the proposal, drafting, and publication of international standards in areas including renewable hydrogen production, fuel cells, and hydrogen-powered rail transportation.
