International Hydrogen Fuel Cell Association

国际氢能燃料电池协会

H2 Corridor Development Plan in the Yangtze River Delta Region Was Officially Released

Over the next three years, China will develop 10 hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) along four express highways connecting Shanghai with four major cities (Rugao, Suzhou, Huzhou & Ningbo) in the Yangtze River Delta region. By the end of 2030, the region is projected to build 500+ HRSs and deploy 200,000+ FCVs.

SHANGHAI, 24 MAY 2019 – The Hydrogen Corridor Construction and Development Plan in the Yangtze River Delta Region (the "Plan") was released today at the 2019 Pujiang Innovation Forum in Shanghai. The plan was developed by the China Society of Automotive Engineers (China SAE), under the guidance of the newly established Yangtze River Delta Regional Cooperation Office – the joint administrative office responsible for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta Region, which includes Shanghai and three provinces (Jiangsu, Zhejiang & Anhui) with a combined $2.5 trillion GDP accounting for almost 20% of China's total GDP.

As China’s first cross-provincial hydrogen development plan, the “H2 Corridor” will focus on the balanced development of H2 stations and associated infrastructure with fuel cell commercial vehicles, integrating the region’s existing hydrogen resources and supply chain.

Ms. Wang Ju, Deputy Secretary-General of China SAE, said "Collaborative development of the hydrogen corridor with joint efforts to connect cities in the Yangtze River Delta region will be an effective approach to overcome the challenges facing the hydrogen infrastructure development, and boost [China's] FCV technological advancement and industrial innovation."

The integrated, region-wide hydrogen plan, an essential part of the low-carbon development strategy by the Chinese government to build world-class fuel cell clusters and hydrogen highways, have got full support from the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (STCSM), Nantong Government, Rugao Government, and other government authorities. In Sept. 2017, STCSM released China’s first Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Development Plan, aiming to build five to 10 hydrogen refueling stations in Shanghai by 2020.

Aligning its existing H2 resources and leading expertise in the FCV demonstration, Shanghai is playing a pivotal role in China’s hydrogen economy development. The city is also poised to be the starting point of the “H2 Corridor” plan released by China SAE. The plan outlines the three-stage development below, including a timetable and a hydrogen roadmap with Shanghai as the flagship city and Rugao, Suzhou, Huzhou, and Ningbo as the backbone in the first phase of the corridor development.

2019 - 2021 (Short Term): H2 station development to connect Shanghai with core demonstration cities in the region (incl. Rugao, Nantong, Suzhou, Zhangjiagang, Huzhou, Jiaxing, and Ningbo) by four hydrogen highways (i.e. G15, G42, G50 and G60). Based on the existing hydrogen infrastructure, it will focus on the development of influential fuel cell clusters to form the framework of industrial belts.

2022-2025 (Medium Term): Scale up hydrogen industrial belts to extensive hydrogen infrastructure network with increasing densities, including at least 10 hydrogen highways. Innovative techno-business models will be explored to create momentum for the large scale FCV deployment.

2026-2030 (Long Term): leverage hydrogen network to all-encompassing hydrogen development in the whole region and extend the H2 corridor to the north and west. In this stage, the corridor will connect all cities in the region by at least 20 highways.

Baseline of the Yangtze River Delta Region's Hydrogen Corridor Development

Regional, national, and international collaboration is becoming a major trend in China's FCV development - represented by the Yangtze River Delta Region striving to be a global leader in the integrated hydrogen economy development.

The region is home to dozens of leading fuel cell developers and FCV producers (incl. China's largest automaker SAIC) and a number of hydrogen demonstration cities such as Rugao, an international front-runner with regard to the development, deployment and commercialization of fuel cells. A number of cities in the region, including Suzhou and Zhangjiagang, have released their detailed FCV development plans supported by strong government policies and financial subsidies.

In addition, the region has abundant, low-cost hydrogen resources and sound supply chain to support the large-scale FCV deployment. At present, the region has six hydrogen refueling stations in operations and 17 ones under construction. In Shanghai alone, a fleet of 500 fuel cell delivery vehicles are serving over 10 logistics companies.