Three government bodies have given the green light to five city clusters to carry out comprehensive hydrogen energy application pilot programs, with the trial period set to run for four years.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission issued a joint notice approving the pilot work plans for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Greater Bay Area, the Northeast (including eastern Inner Mongolia)-Yangtze River Delta, the Xinjiang-Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, and the Yellow River Jizi Bend-Central Plains city clusters.
The approval followed a process of formal review, expert evaluation, and on-site defense, in accordance with the requirements of the joint notice on launching comprehensive hydrogen energy application pilots. The three departments will track and guide the pilot work and conduct assessments, with the evaluation results serving as the basis for allocating central government reward funds to the pilot city clusters.
Authorities in the relevant provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities are required to strengthen coordination, accelerate implementation, actively introduce supportive policies, strictly ensure local reward funds are in place, and quickly generate tangible progress in line with the submitted pilot work plans.
Participating cities must fulfill their assigned duties and responsibilities as specified in the notice and their respective city cluster pilot work plans, working efficiently and collaboratively to complete all pilot tasks. After each pilot year ends, self-assessment reports must be compiled and submitted to the three departments through proper procedures.
Efforts must be stepped up to advance four key lists: breakthroughs in hydrogen technology and equipment, hydrogen projects in the industrial sector, promotion of fuel cell vehicles, and construction of hydrogen refueling stations, so as to develop replicable and promotable experience for the hydrogen energy industry.
The notice calls for establishing a complete industrial chain and supply chain, ensuring smooth domestic circulation, and preventing and overcoming local protectionism. Key projects should be laid out rationally, highlighting city cluster characteristics and coordination, while avoiding small-scale, fragmented, hastily launched, and low-level repetitive construction. A sound safety management system must be established, with clear responsible departments and strict implementation. Performance management should be carried out well, with timely assessment of the economic, social, and ecological benefits of the pilot work.
Central government reward funds must be allocated in a timely manner as required, giving full play to their effectiveness, genuinely reducing the cost of hydrogen use, and effectively transmitting this benefit to end-product consumption links. For city clusters where progress falls short of expectations or local reward funds are not allocated in a timely manner, the three departments will, in accordance with the notice, take measures such as reducing or suspending central government reward funds as appropriate. Reward funds are to be coordinated by local authorities for supporting comprehensive hydrogen application and must not be used for balancing budgets, repaying government debt, or clearing overdue payments to enterprises.
Any relevant problems or suggestions arising during the pilot work should be reported to the three departments in a timely manner. The notice was jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission on August 15, 2026.
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