China says it will co-ordinate the supply and demand of domestic green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol

The powerful National Development and Reform Commission also aims to reduce system operating costs, according to a senior official

The Chinese government has said it will carry out policies to co-ordinate the supply and demand of green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol in order to better progress the industry’s build-out, according to a senior official at the powerful National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

A similar “matchmaking” scheme has just been unveiled in the EU, to help developers and potential offtakers connect, and thus make it easier for green hydrogen projects to find the offtakers they need to reach a final investment decision.

Speaking to local journalists yesterday at a monthly press conference, Li Chao, deputy director of the NDRC’s Office of Policy Studies, said that green hydrogen and its key derivatives will “play an important role in renewable-energy absorption and in replacing fossil fuels with clean energy in end-use consumption”.

She explained that the NRDC now plans to “carry out coordinated planning and deployment; to effectively align the supply and demand of green hydrogen, green ammonia and green methanol; to promote their large-scale development in key sectors; to advance, in a suitably proactive manner, the construction of infrastructure for production, transport and storage; and to effectively reduce system operating costs.”

Li also promised that the NDRC would “break through key technical bottlenecks” in the green hydrogen and energy storage spaces, while organising and implementing “industrial innovation projects” while supporting leading enterprises and universities to advance hydrogen clusters, improve products and “to encourage the orderly development of multiple new energy-storage and hydrogen-energy technology routes”.

“At present, China has built more than 150,000 tonnes of green-hydrogen production capacity, and is promoting the extension of hydrogen-energy applications into the fields of green hydrogen, green ammonia and green methanol, accelerating the integrated layout of production, storage, transport and use for green hydrogen, green ammonia and green methanol, which will subsequently play an important role in renewable-energy absorption and in replacing fossil fuels with clean energy in end-use consumption,” she added.

The NDRC is the Chinese government’s chief economic planning agency, responsible for guiding national economic strategy and coordinating its implementation.

Cover photo:  Li Chao speaking at yesterday's press conference in Beijing.