The International Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Industry Summit was successfully held in Seoul, Korea on May 23rd. The meeting was co-organized by the International Hydrogen Fuel Cell Association (IHFCA), China Society of Automotive Engineers (Chine SAE), H2KOREA, and Korea Automobile & Mobility Association (KAMA). Nearly 200 participants from 10 countries, including guests from CAST, international organizations, Korean associations, universities, research institutes and international corporations, gathered and exchanged their views, aiming to promote industry cooperation and global ecosystem construction and realize industrial win-win results.
Mr. Wan Gang, President of China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), Mr. Meng Qinghai, Full-time Vice President and Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of CAST, Prof. Ouyang Minggao, Professor of Tsinghua University, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chairman of IHFCA, Mr. Jaehong Kim, Chairman of H2Korea, Mr. Namhoon Kang, President of KAMA, Mr. Gunther Beger, Managing Director of the Directorate for SDG Innovation and Economic Transformation, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Mr. Zhang Jinhua, member of the Standing Committee of CAST, Chairman of the China SAE, Standing Vice Chairman of IHFCA, Mr. Wu Zhixin, Deputy General Manager of China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) and other guests attended the meeting. Ms. Wang Ju, Secretary General of IHFCA, Mr. Tony Chen, Vice Chairman of IHFCA and China President of Anglo American, and Prof. Yu Zhuoping, Standing Executive Director of IHFCA and Professor of Tongji University, presided over the speech, panel discussion, and presentation sessions.
Mr. Wan Gang congratulated the convening of the summit and pointed out that hydrogen energy, as an important part of the future clean energy system, has the characteristics of diversified sources, high driving efficiency and zero-emission, and it is an important energy carrier for realizing the green and low-carbon transition in the transport sector. The development of hydrogen energy is of great significance in addressing climate change, safeguarding energy security, improving air quality, and constructing a modern energy system. It has become a common strategic option for the universal goal of carbon neutrality. In recent years, the development of global hydrogen energy and fuel cell vehicle industry has been accelerating; however, there remain bottleneck problems before full-scale marketization, and it is important for all parties around the world to work together, continuously strengthen the key technology research and continue to optimize the industry environment. He encouraged all parties to actively discuss and jointly promote international exchanges and cooperation, and make greater contributions to global hydrogen and fuel cell vehicle industry development.
Mr. Jaehong Kim thanked the guests and introduced the background and significance of hydrogen energy cooperation between China and Korea. He pointed out that in the context of the global transition to a carbon-neutral society, the hydrogen energy industry will play an important role in the decarbonization of carbon-intensive sectors such as transportation, industry and power generation. Currently, China already has the world's largest hydrogen energy market, and it also boasts a variety of renewable energy sources. In the future, there is a need for Korea and China to strengthen cooperation and expand trade cooperation in hydrogen energy.
Prof. Ouyang Minggao shared the prospects of fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs) to drive the development of a green hydrogen energy industry chain. He pointed out that China has established a complete industrial ecosystem covering the value chain of hydrogen production, storage, transportation, refueling, utilization, and R&D and manufacturing of key core components. By the end of August 2023, there were about 17,000 FCEVs in China, and it is expected that by 2025, there will be 35,000 FCEVs in operation in demonstration city clusters in China. Meanwhile, with hydrogen transportation as the leading application area, hydrogen demonstration is expanding to multiple fields. Applications in trams, drones, and ships are being carried out, and applications in hydrogen energy storage, natural gas hydrogen doping, and hydrogen metallurgy are also under development.
Mr. Gunther Beger emphasized the importance of hydrogen energy in the global industrial transformation. In his view, clean hydrogen energy could pave the way for the development of "net-zero industry", and cooperation between hydrogen energy and industry, as well as the role played by industry, were crucial to achieving that goal. He pointed out that UNIDO has launched the Global Industrial Hydrogen Initiative to promote the accelerated development of clean hydrogen production and applications in developing countries and economies in transition.
Promoting international cooperation in hydrogen energy is of great significance for the construction of an industrial ecosystem, of which international cooperation has attracted much attention in Korea. According to Mr. Namhoon Kang, Korea is promoting the transition to a hydrogen economy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and is building a hydrogen ecosystem to revitalize the hydrogen industry. He said that the Korean shipbuilding industry is investing in a "hydrogen ecosystem," which includes ships transporting green hydrogen from abroad and logistics ships fueled by green hydrogen.
To accelerate the construction of the hydrogen energy industry ecology, China has continued to carry out demonstration and application work for fuel cell vehicles in recent years, gradually pushing the development of hydrogen energy into the fast lane. Mr. Wu Zhixin pointed out that in 2020, China issued a fuel cell vehicle demonstration application policy, introducing innovative support measures for the development of hydrogen energy industry, including new support methods and organizational mechanisms. Driven by the national fuel cell vehicle demonstration policy, 41 cities in 5 city clusters have been included in the demonstration and promotion program, and positive progress has been made in vehicle promotion, technology level, key components, hydrogen supply, and local policy environment.
The panel discussion session themed on “The Deep Decarbonization of Road Transport to Leverage the Large-Scale Application of Hydrogen Energy” was hosted by Mr. Tony Chen, Vice Chairman of IHFCA. Mr. Deng Chenghao, Vice President of Changan Automobile Company Limited, Mr. Shuji Yuda, Deputy General Manager of Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co., Mr. Ding Zhengping, Vice President of BMW Research & Development China Total Vehicle, Mr. Lu Bingbing, General Manager of Shanghai Hydrogen Propulsion Technology Co., and Mr. Sanghum Kim, Senior Manager of Hydrogen Business Development Team, Hyundai Motor Group, shared their views on fuel cell vehicles in carbon emission and the prospect of marketization.
In addition, Mr. Suckbong Huh, Vice President of DS Aether CT, Mr. Pan Feng, General Manager of Faurecia Hydrogen China, Mr. Yonghun Lee, Research Director of GTC, Mr. Shi Jianpeng, Vice President of General Research and Development Institute of Dongfeng Motor Corportation, Mr, Jungchan Lee, Research Fellow of Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, Mr. Du Jiaen, Vice President of SINOHYDO, Mr. Sungmin Byeon, Senior Researcher of H2KOREA gave presentations and discussed on hydrogen and fuel cell development from different perspectives.
On May 22nd, the Establishment and First Session of the First IHFCA Standardization Working Committee was successfully held in Seoul, Korea.