The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission (hereafter referred to as the three ministries) recently jointly issued the Measures for the Management of Hydrogen Energy Integrated Application Pilot Work (hereafter referred to as the Management Measures).
The Management Measures state that city clusters should, in accordance with the pilot work plans approved by the three ministries, coordinate the advancement of pilot work and efficiently organize the implementation of four task lists: hydrogen energy technology and equipment breakthroughs, hydrogen energy projects in the industrial sector, fuel cell vehicle promotion, and hydrogen refueling station construction.
To implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, drive cost reduction through multi-scenario large-scale application, and facilitate breakthroughs in hydrogen energy technology and equipment innovation, the three ministries issued a notice in August of this year agreeing in principle to pilot work plans for five city clusters: Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Greater Bay Area, Northeast China (including eastern Inner Mongolia)-Yangtze River Delta, Xinjiang-Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, and the Yellow River Bend-Central Plains region, to carry out hydrogen energy integrated application pilot work for a period of four years.
The Management Measures apply to the organization and implementation, assessment and evaluation, credit accounting, and fund and project supervision and management activities of the hydrogen energy integrated application pilot, aiming to strengthen the management of the pilot work and improve the efficiency of fiscal fund utilization.
Next, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will work with relevant departments to conduct process guidance for the pilot, performance evaluation of central fiscal reward funds, supervise city clusters in organizing and implementing the pilot, managing funds and projects, and regularly organize summaries of pilot work results and promote pilot experience.
Notice on Issuing the Measures for the Management of Hydrogen Energy Integrated Application Pilot Work
Gong Xin Ting Lian Jie [2026] No. 39
To the industrial and information technology authorities, finance departments (bureaus), and development and reform commissions of Beijing Municipality, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Liaoning Province, Jilin Province, Shanghai Municipality, Henan Province, Guangdong Province, Chongqing Municipality, Sichuan Province, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region:
In order to strengthen the management of the hydrogen energy integrated application pilot work and improve the efficiency of fiscal fund utilization, the Measures for the Management of Hydrogen Energy Integrated Application Pilot Work are hereby issued to you. Please implement them conscientiously in light of actual conditions.
General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
General Office of the Ministry of Finance
General Office of the National Development and Reform Commission
October 14, 2026
Measures for the Management of Hydrogen Energy Integrated Application Pilot Work
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1: In order to strengthen the management of the hydrogen energy integrated application pilot work and improve the efficiency of fiscal fund utilization, these Measures are formulated in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and the Notice of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission on Carrying Out the Hydrogen Energy Integrated Application Pilot Work (Gong Xin Bu Lian Jie [2026] No. 59) (hereafter referred to as the Notice) and other relevant policy documents.
Article 2: These Measures apply to the organization and implementation, assessment and evaluation, credit accounting, and fund and project supervision and management activities of the hydrogen energy integrated application pilot.
Article 3: The hydrogen energy integrated application pilot shall be jointly organized and implemented by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission (hereafter referred to as the three ministries). The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shall be responsible for organizing city cluster assessment and evaluation, reward credit accounting, fund application, and other work, proposing annual fund allocation recommendations and performance targets; working with relevant departments to conduct process guidance for the pilot, performance evaluation of central fiscal reward funds, and supervise city clusters in organizing and implementing the pilot and managing funds and projects. It shall work with the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission to regularly organize summaries of pilot work results and promote pilot experience. The Ministry of Finance shall issue the central fiscal reward fund budget based on the annual fund arrangement recommendations proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the annual performance target table shall be issued together with the fund budget document. The provincial-level industrial and information technology, finance, and development and reform departments where pilot cities are located (hereafter referred to as provincial-level competent departments) shall be responsible for coordinating pilot organization, proposing internal supervision and assessment systems and punitive measures for city clusters, creating a favorable policy and institutional environment, and supervising the effective implementation of pilot work.
Article 4: The lead city of each city cluster shall be responsible for coordinating the advancement of all pilot work within the city cluster, regularly summarizing pilot work progress, and compiling a self-assessment report for the city cluster. The responsible cities shall be responsible for advancing the pilot tasks under their charge and cooperating with the lead city in pilot coordination and summary work. Cities participating in pilot tasks shall be responsible for efficiently advancing relevant pilot tasks.
Chapter II Organization and Implementation
Article 5: City clusters shall, in accordance with the pilot work plans approved by the three ministries, coordinate the advancement of pilot work.
Article 6: The pilot work plans approved by the three ministries shall not be altered without authorization. If changes are truly necessary, the lead city shall submit a change application, which shall be approved by the provincial-level competent department where the lead city is located before being submitted to the three ministries for review and approval. The change application shall elaborate in detail the reasons and necessity for the change.
Article 7: City clusters shall efficiently organize the implementation of four task lists: hydrogen energy technology and equipment breakthroughs, hydrogen energy projects in the industrial sector, fuel cell vehicle promotion, and hydrogen refueling station construction.
Article 8: City clusters shall increase support for advanced technology research and application, promote breakthroughs in hydrogen energy application technology, processes, and equipment innovation, and achieve iterative upgrades of fuel cells, electrolyzers, storage and transportation devices and materials.
Article 9: City clusters shall organize the connection of hydrogen energy integrated application products, equipment, and projects such as fuel cell vehicles, green ammonia and methanol, hydrogen-based chemical raw material substitution, hydrogen metallurgy, hydrogen blending combustion, and innovative application scenarios within the city cluster to the Hydrogen Energy Integrated Application Pilot Management Service Platform (hereafter referred to as the Management Service Platform), and upload relevant basic information and operational data in accordance with corresponding specifications. The uploaded content includes operational data related to reward fund accounting such as vehicle hydrogen refueling volume, industrial project hydrogen usage, vehicle pure hydrogen driving mileage, as well as test reports corresponding to indicators involving technical requirement compliance.
Article 10: Each pilot city shall regularly verify the information and data uploaded by enterprises to ensure the completeness, authenticity, and accuracy of relevant data.
Chapter III Assessment and Evaluation
Article 11: After the end of each year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with relevant departments, shall conduct assessment and evaluation of each city cluster's work in the previous year and the overall pilot situation. The evaluation shall focus on the following:
(1) The completion status, problems faced, and improvement measures of pilot tasks including technology and equipment breakthroughs, hydrogen energy application projects in the industrial sector, fuel cell vehicle promotion and application, and hydrogen refueling station construction for the city cluster as a whole and each pilot city;
(2) The implementation of organizational, policy, funding, safety and emergency safeguard measures and the management of reward funds by the city cluster to promote pilot work;
(3) The economic, social, and ecological benefits generated by the city cluster pilot work;
(4) Other circumstances requiring evaluation.
Article 12: The lead city of each city cluster shall, within 30 days after the end of each year, organize all pilot cities within the city cluster to compile self-assessment reports in accordance with requirements (see Attachment 1) and submit them to the three ministries. Where multiple responsible cities are involved, each responsible city shall coordinate with relevant pilot participating cities to jointly review the completion status of corresponding responsible tasks and summarize them to the lead city.
Article 13: The self-assessment report of each city cluster shall be approved by the provincial-level competent department where the lead city is located and then submitted to the three ministries through the Management Service Platform.
Article 14: Each pilot city shall bear primary responsibility for the completeness, authenticity, and accuracy of the content of the self-assessment report submitted.
Article 15: The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with relevant departments, shall entrust third-party institutions to conduct assessment and evaluation of city cluster task target completion through document review, on-site inspections, expert reviews, and other methods, combined with relevant Management Service Platform data, and issue city cluster assessment and evaluation reports.
Article 16: Assessment and evaluation can be divided into three types based on pilot work progress: annual evaluation, mid-term evaluation, and acceptance evaluation.
Article 17: Assessment and evaluation results shall be quantified into comprehensive scores according to relevant standards (see Attachment 2). If a city cluster's comprehensive score is below 60 points, the city cluster shall be deemed to have failed the assessment and evaluation.
Chapter IV Credit Accounting
Article 18: After the end of each year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with relevant departments, shall entrust third-party institutions to organize experts to conduct corresponding annual reward credit accounting for city clusters in accordance with relevant credit accounting standards, and form reward credit verification tables for each city cluster.
Article 19: For fuel cell vehicle scenarios, vehicle promotion credits shall be calculated based on the number of vehicles promoted and applied in the city cluster and relevant information, with reference to the fuel cell standard vehicle conversion method, standard vehicle reward credit standards, and corresponding vehicle reward coefficients. Hydrogen supply credits shall be calculated based on the actual refueling volume of clean low-carbon hydrogen for vehicles, hydrogen type, hydrogen refueling station location, etc.
Article 20: For green ammonia and methanol, hydrogen-based chemical raw material substitution, hydrogen metallurgy, and hydrogen blending combustion scenarios, reward credits shall be calculated based on the scale of clean low-carbon hydrogen application. Hydrogen usage shall correspond to the actual sales situation of downstream products. Hydrogen usage corresponding to downstream products that have only completed production but have not been actually sold shall not be counted; accounting may be applied for after actual sales are completed.
Article 21: For innovative application scenarios such as hydrogen-powered rail locomotives, ships, mining trucks, forklifts, two-wheelers, aircraft, backup power supplies, combined heat and power, and hydrogen energy storage power generation, reward credits shall be calculated based on the number of products promoted and applied and the rated power of fuel cell systems (or hydrogen internal combustion engines, hydrogen turbines, etc.). For scenarios such as electronics and pharmaceuticals, reward credits shall be calculated based on the scale of renewable energy hydrogen production application; hydrogen usage shall correspond to the actual sales situation of end products.
Article 22: The fuel cell vehicles, green ammonia and methanol, hydrogen-based chemical raw material substitution, hydrogen metallurgy, hydrogen blending combustion, and innovative application scenario end product application situations or hydrogen usage scales for which city clusters apply for reward credits shall correspond to end products and projects that comply with the relevant technical requirements of the Notice, and relevant products are all required to be produced, sold, and used domestically. Those that do not comply shall not be counted for reward credits.
Article 23: If a city cluster's annual vehicle promotion, hydrogen usage scale, etc. exceed the current year's plan in the pilot work plan, the excess portion may be counted in the following year.
Chapter V Fund Management
Article 24: The central finance shall adopt a "pre-allocate first, settle later" approach to disburse reward funds. After a city cluster receives approval, the central finance shall pre-allocate a certain proportion of reward funds to each city cluster to support the city cluster in launching the hydrogen energy integrated application pilot work.
Article 25: After the end of each year, the three ministries shall confirm the reward fund amount for each city cluster based on assessment and evaluation and reward credit verification results. For city clusters that fail the assessment and evaluation, the current year's reward funds shall be suspended; for city clusters that pass the assessment and evaluation but have not completed all annual pilot tasks, a certain proportion of reward funds shall be reduced as appropriate.
Article 26: After the pilot ends, the three ministries shall settle the reward funds for city clusters on the principle of refunding excess and supplementing shortfall. The cumulative central fiscal reward funds obtained by a city cluster during the pilot implementation period shall not exceed a cap of 1.6 billion yuan.
(1) Where funds need to be reduced due to incomplete pilot tasks, the difference between disbursed funds and payable funds shall be returned;
(2) Funds reduced or suspended in the first three years due to slow progress may be supplemented as appropriate based on acceptance results;
(3) Where acceptance evaluation is failed, the fourth year's reward funds shall not be disbursed, and partial or full return of already disbursed funds may be ordered as appropriate.
Article 27: Reward funds shall be used by city clusters in conjunction with work plans for carrying out hydrogen energy integrated application pilot work. Each city cluster shall fully leverage the effectiveness of reward funds, reduce hydrogen usage costs, and effectively transmit this to the end product consumption stage.
Article 28: Before the disbursement of pre-allocated funds and annual reward funds, city clusters shall compile reward fund application documents, specify the reward fund allocation plan for each pilot city, simultaneously compile performance targets (see Attachment 3), and submit them to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as required. The fund allocation plan shall in principle be proposed by the lead city, shall objectively and truthfully reflect the task completion status of each pilot city during the pilot process, effectively leverage the support and guidance role of central fiscal funds, and improve the efficiency of fund utilization.
Article 29: After central fiscal reward funds are issued, city clusters shall disburse funds to relevant participating entities as soon as possible. Local self-raised funds shall be linked with central fiscal funds and issued together with central fiscal funds. Each pilot city and its provincial-level competent department shall supervise fund disbursement, formulate reward fund disbursement plans and management rules in light of local actual conditions, specify reward fund allocation methods, support standards, and the use of local self-raised funds, and file them with the three ministries through the Management Service Platform.
Article 30: If pilot cities and their provincial-level competent departments fail to disburse central reward funds and local self-raised funds in a timely manner, the continued disbursement of reward funds for the corresponding city cluster or pilot city shall be studied for suspension as appropriate; after funds at all levels are disbursed in place, the three ministries shall study subsequent reward fund disbursement plans as appropriate.
Article 31: City clusters shall use central fiscal funds in accordance with relevant budget management regulations, ensure that reward funds are used exclusively for designated purposes and managed as special funds, and carry out transfer payment fund performance self-evaluation work as required by relevant documents, focusing on evaluating reward fund execution and performance target completion to improve the efficiency of fund utilization.
Article 32: Reward funds shall not be used to balance budgets, repay government debt, or clear overdue enterprise accounts. Projects or products in the hydrogen energy application stage that have already received support from ultra-long-term special government bonds, central budget investment, government special bonds, or other funds shall not be included in the scope of reward fund support for this pilot.
Article 33: Each city cluster shall establish a ledger of reward fund execution, evaluate fund usage annually against performance targets, promptly summarize and analyze existing problems and causes, incorporate relevant content into self-assessment reports, and submit them to the three ministries.
Article 34: Local departments at all levels shall strengthen supervision and management of reward funds, shall not intercept or misappropriate reward funds, and shall promptly report to the three ministries if problems such as false fund applications, misappropriation, duplicate applications, or fraudulent reimbursement are discovered.
Chapter VI Project Supervision
Article 35: The three ministries shall strengthen supervision and management of projects related to the hydrogen energy integrated application pilot and provide technical support for pilot cities in project construction, management, and evaluation.
Article 36: The three ministries shall entrust third-party institutions to carry out pilot progress tracking and daily management, focusing on supervising the construction and commissioning progress of industrial projects, establishing a project progress notification mechanism, and issuing notifications for projects whose progress falls short of expectations.
Article 37: The three ministries shall establish a dynamic adjustment mechanism for city clusters. For those that fail the mid-term evaluation or fail two consecutive annual evaluations, the following measures may be taken as appropriate:
(1) Require adjustment of work plans;
(2) Deduct or suspend disbursement of reward funds;
(3) Suspend or even cancel pilot participation qualifications.
Article 38: If the lead city of a city cluster cannot submit materials such as the city cluster self-assessment report, reward fund allocation plan, and performance targets on time, other responsible cities within the city cluster may separately submit materials related to the pilot tasks they are responsible for advancing, with detailed explanations of the situation.
Article 39: If a city cluster falls under any of the following circumstances, the three ministries shall, depending on the specific situation, issue corresponding actions such as circulating criticism, requiring adjustment of pilot work plans, deducting reward credits, reducing or suspending disbursement of reward funds, or suspending or even canceling pilot participation qualifications:
(1) Failing the mid-term evaluation or failing two consecutive annual evaluations;
(2) Engaging in fraud, violating regulations, or submitting seriously false materials;
(3) Providing insufficient supporting materials such that pilot work progress and reward fund usage cannot be determined;
(4) Setting up or disguised obstacles to restrict the procurement or sale of equipment, raw materials, products, etc. from outside the city cluster;
(5) Pilot work progress being seriously delayed, making it impossible to complete tasks, or falling far short of pilot goals;
(6) Misappropriating or occupying central fiscal funds, or duplicate applications for central fiscal fund support, or using reward funds in areas prohibited by these Measures;
(7) Occurrence of relatively major or above production safety accidents, sudden environmental incidents, environmental pollution accidents, or ecological damage incidents.
Article 40: Where local governments and relevant departments violate these Measures in fund allocation, issuance, and management, or commit other illegal and irregular acts such as abuse of power, dereliction of duty, or favoritism, corresponding responsibilities shall be pursued in accordance with law. Where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be pursued in accordance with law. Where illegal and irregular acts occur in the process of fund application or use, corresponding responsibilities shall be pursued in accordance with the Budget Law of the People's Republic of China and its implementing regulations, the Regulations on Penalties and Sanctions for Fiscal Violations, and other relevant state provisions. Where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be pursued in accordance with law.
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Article 41: These Measures shall be interpreted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in consultation with the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission, and shall be optimized and adjusted based on the actual situation of city cluster pilot work.
Article 42: The term "city cluster" as used in these Measures refers to city clusters that have been approved by the three ministries to implement hydrogen energy integrated application pilot work plans.
Article 43: The pilot implementation period as used in these Measures shall be counted from the date of city cluster approval and shall last for four years.
Article 44: The meanings of the following terms used in these Measures are:
(1) Renewable energy hydrogen production (also called "green hydrogen") refers to hydrogen mainly produced directly from renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics and wind power. Industrial by-product hydrogen mainly includes coke oven gas hydrogen production, chlor-alkali tail gas industrial by-product hydrogen, propane dehydrogenation by-product hydrogen, ethane cracking dehydrogenation by-product hydrogen, etc.;
(2) Document review refers to the examination of self-assessment reports and relevant test reports and supporting materials provided by each city cluster;
(3) On-site inspection refers to the selection of some products, equipment, or projects in fuel cell vehicles, green ammonia and methanol, hydrogen-based chemical raw material substitution, hydrogen metallurgy, hydrogen blending combustion, and innovative application scenarios in each city cluster for on-site inspection of their production and operation, promotion and application, technical indicators, etc.;
(4) Annual evaluation refers to the annual assessment of the city cluster's pilot work in the current year after the end of each year;
(5) Mid-term evaluation refers to the phased summary evaluation of the city cluster's pilot work in the first two years after the end of the second year;
(6) Acceptance evaluation refers to the overall evaluation of the city cluster's four-year pilot work after the end of the fourth year.
Article 45: The "days" stipulated in these Measures are all calendar days.
Article 46: These Measures shall take effect from the date of issuance.
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