Each cluster can receive up to $238m (1.6 billion yuan) in central government funding.
China has approved four-year hydrogen energy pilot programmes across five city clusters, with each cluster eligible for up to $238m (1.6 billion yuan) in central government funding.
The programmes will cover the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and three cross-regional groups linking northeast China with the Yangtze River Delta, Xinjiang with the Chengdu-Chongqing twin-city economic circle, and the Yellow River bend with the Central Plains.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Finance and National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the policy circular, which was made public on Friday.
Participating cities must prioritise hydrogen technology and equipment development, industrial hydrogen projects, fuel cell vehicle adoption and hydrogen refuelling station construction.
The circular also calls on cities to strengthen industrial and supply chains, avoid local protectionism, improve project planning and tighten safety management. They must assess the programmes’ economic, social and environmental benefits.
The three departments will evaluate the programmes and use the results to determine central government funding allocations. The funds must support hydrogen energy applications, reduce hydrogen-use costs and pass savings on to end users.
China is expanding hydrogen use in industry and transport to reduce carbon emissions. However, high costs and storage and transportation challenges continue to limit adoption.
China produced more than 39 million tonnes of hydrogen in 2025, making it the world’s largest producer and consumer, according to official data.
Under a policy issued in March, China aims to have 100,000 fuel cell vehicles nationwide by 2030. Each city cluster can receive up to 1.6 billion yuan in central government reward funds over the four-year pilot period.
