①Global carbon emission control policies for shipping and aviation are gradually tightening, and under the resonance of domestic and international policies, hydrogen energy may reach a non-linear growth inflection point; ②Huatai Securities research report highlights that domestic project operators, hydrogen-ammonia-alcohol equipment suppliers, and electrolyzer suppliers are expected to benefit from the surge in green hydrogen demand.
Cailian Press, April 11 (Editor Wei Qi) CCTV News Broadcast reported today that China’s hydrogen energy industry is accelerating to open up a trillion-yuan new space.
With its triple attributes as an energy fuel, industrial raw material, and energy storage medium, hydrogen energy, as an important component of the future national energy system, is at a historical turning point towards scale-up and commercialization. The downstream application pathways of hydrogen energy are becoming increasingly clear, with initial breakthroughs expected in transportation and chemical industries where price sensitivity is lowest, advancing along the path of ‘green shipping, hydrogen-powered heavy trucks, chemicals, metallurgy, and energy storage.’
In terms of policy, the ’15th Five-Year Plan’ outline mentions ‘promoting hydrogen energy as a new economic growth point,’ and drives the large-scale application of green hydrogen in industrial decarbonization through a non-electricity consumption assessment mechanism. On March 6, multiple departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the ‘Notice on Launching Comprehensive Hydrogen Energy Application Pilot Work.’ The policy promotes urban clusters as core carriers, selecting five pilot urban clusters through a competitive bidding mechanism. The central government will provide rewards instead of subsidies, granting up to 1.6 billion yuan to a single urban cluster, with a four-year implementation cycle. The policy explicitly aims to reduce the average terminal hydrogen price in pilot urban clusters to below 25 yuan per kilogram by 2030, with advantageous regions aiming for around 15 yuan per kilogram, addressing the issue of high hydrogen costs in the commercialization process. In terms of scale, the target is to double the number of fuel cell vehicles nationwide compared to 2025, striving to reach 100,000 units, while also promoting iterative upgrades of key technologies and products such as fuel cells, electrolyzers, and storage and transportation equipment.
Since 2026, local governments have actively responded to the national deployment of comprehensive hydrogen energy application pilots, with 22 provinces and cities incorporating the hydrogen energy industry into their annual key work plans. Fujian Province is focusing on promoting demonstration applications of hydrogen energy in diversified scenarios such as transportation and marine environments; the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is conducting pilot projects across the entire ‘production, storage, transmission, and use’ industrial chain, with coordinated planning for green hydrogen pipeline construction; Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces have both listed the full hydrogen energy industrial chain cultivation as an important direction in their ’15th Five-Year Plan.’ Guangdong focuses on core technology breakthroughs in fuel cells, while Jiangsu emphasizes innovation in hydrogen storage and transportation modes and pilot construction of hydrogen energy highways.
In terms of industry, Huatai Securities points out that China currently builds an advantage across the entire green electricity-green hydrogen-green fuel industrial chain. In green electricity, China’s cumulative installed capacity of wind and solar power accounts for approximately 50% globally, with residential and commercial electricity prices being 30%-70% lower than those in the United States and Europe. In the future, the integrated model of renewable energy plus energy storage and direct green electricity connections may further drive down costs. In green hydrogen, China’s electrolyzer production capacity is about 48GW in 2024, accounting for approximately 60% globally, with advantages in ALK alkaline electrolyzers suitable for large-scale production.
Huatai Securities research report indicates that global carbon emission control policies for shipping and aviation are gradually tightening, and under the resonance of domestic and international policies, hydrogen energy may reach a non-linear growth inflection point. The report expects that under the surge in green hydrogen demand, domestic project operators, hydrogen-ammonia-alcohol equipment suppliers, and electrolyzer suppliers are expected to benefit. Driven by domestic green hydrogen industry support policies, the order of beneficiaries along the industrial chain is as follows:
1. Project Operators: Companies participating in green hydrogen-ammonia-alcohol project operations and downstream consumption applications are expected to benefit first. Recommendation: Yunda Co., Ltd. Other companies in the industrial chain include: Goldwind Technologies, Mingyang Smart Energy, Fuge Technology, Jiaze New Energy, and China Tianying.
2. Ammonia-alcohol production equipment suppliers: Gasifiers and synthesis reactors are core equipment for hydrogen-based derivative production. The establishment of green hydrogen-ammonia-alcohol production lines is expected to drive procurement demand for related equipment. Relevant companies in the industrial chain include: Aerospace Engineering, China First Heavy Industries, Lanshi Heavy Equipment, and Sinomach Heavy Equipment.
3. Electrolyzer Suppliers: Leading electrolyzer companies will benefit from global green hydrogen demand and equipment exports. Recommendations: Sungrow Power Supply, LONGi Green Energy Technology, and Shuangliang Energy Saving. Other companies in the industrial chain include: Huadian Heavy Industries.
