As of June this year, China's completed and under-construction renewable hydrogen production capacity has surpassed 1.4 million tonnes per year, according to a new report from the National Energy Administration.
The "China Hydrogen Energy Development Report (2026)" highlights that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the global hydrogen industry is at a critical juncture, transitioning from pilot trials to an orderly breakthrough. In 2025, global hydrogen production and consumption reached approximately 109 million tonnes, marking a year-on-year increase of about 3%. Renewable hydrogen production is moving toward large-scale development, with China and Europe together contributing over 70% of global renewable hydrogen capacity.
In recent years, China's hydrogen industry has made significant progress, with renewable hydrogen capacity expanding steadily. As of June 2026, completed and under-construction renewable hydrogen projects in China have a total capacity of over 1.4 million tonnes per year. Of this, more than 270,000 tonnes per year are already operational, while over 1.13 million tonnes per year are under construction, with electrolytic water hydrogen production being the primary method.
Hydrogen infrastructure is also advancing steadily. By June 2026, approximately 620 hydrogen refueling stations have been built nationwide. Several ports are now equipped with green ammonia or green methanol refueling capabilities, and the total length of pure hydrogen pipelines in operation has exceeded 350 kilometers.
At the same time, demonstration projects are being promoted efficiently across multiple scenarios. In the transportation sector, pilot applications are being trialed in areas such as long-haul heavy-duty transport and the low-altitude economy. In 2025, nearly 8,000 fuel cell vehicles were deployed, over 10 hydrogen-based fuel vessels were put into operation, and more than 30 hydrogen-powered drone models were released or test-flown. In the industrial sector, large-scale hydrogen development models, such as green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol production, are being explored more rapidly. Operational capacity for green ammonia and green methanol has reached 700,000 tonnes per year and 380,000 tonnes per year, respectively. In the power generation sector, both distributed and large-scale applications are being explored in parallel, with the installed capacity of fuel cell power generation and combined heat and power projects steadily increasing.
Hydrogen energy not only addresses the challenge of absorbing green electricity and promotes deep decarbonization in end-use sectors, but it also enables seasonal long-duration energy storage, high-temperature industrial substitution, and innovation in green chemical feedstocks. Combined with its multi-energy coupling characteristics, hydrogen holds irreplaceable strategic value.
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