Experts believe that if China can make technological breakthroughs on ‘green hydrogen’, it can outpace global leaders like Japan and gain a competitive advantage on the development of renewable energy.

Green hydrogen is hydrogen fuel that is created using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels. By using a method called electrolysis, hydrogen can be produced without polluting the environment. It involves passing a high electric current via a water container, which cleaves the water molecule into its components – hydrogen and oxygen. The atoms of each element combine to form molecules – hydrogen molecules and oxygen molecules. Each of them is then kept separately.

If the source of the electricity is sustainable, such as solar or wind, it implies that hydrogen has been produced sustainably, without the emission of toxic greenhouse gases. This then potentially makes green hydrogen the fuel for the future.

In the China Green Hydrogen Energy Development Conference in Beijing recently, Wang Jin, Dean of the Guohe InterContinental Energy Consultation Institute said: “From the production of hydrogen and fuel cells to transportation and distribution, technology gaps exist in every segment of the industry between China and foreign countries.”

What’s interesting is that “in 2030, global green hydrogen output is expected to grow nearly 2.5-fold to 212 tonnes from last year, of which 54 per cent will be produced from electrolysis (up from 5 per cent last year), while the remaining 46 per cent will be made from fossil fuel with facilities to capture carbon dioxide emitted,” according to a report compiled by South China Morning Post.

Meanwhile, Japan still remains the global leader in hydrogen technology and applications. According to studies, it aims to produce roughly 10 million tonnes of hydrogen annually and is looking to commercialise a fuel supply chain by 2030.

In the same Beijing conference, Chai Maorong, Chief Technology Officer of the State Power Investment Corporation Hydrogen Technology Development, said: “China’s hydrogen technology is similar to where Japan was in the early 1990s.”

“I believe the Chinese will catch up by 2025,” says Chai Maorong.

You can read more about this story on South China Morning Post, including China’s aim to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2060, here.

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Green hydrogen is one of the key topics that will be discussed at the upcoming Impact X Summit on Climate Growth, happening on 21-22 September in Sydney. This summit is the single most important climate symposium in Asia Pacific, leading into #COP26 in Glasgow. To learn more or to register to attend the conference, click here.