China is on top of the hydrogen game and intends to remain there. In 2022, policymakers set an ambitious target to have 50,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles on the roads by the end of 2025 and it’s still up in the air whether they’re going to achieve that. Lower-than-expected hydrogen-fueled vehicle sales have presented a setback, but China was still the leader in commercial hydrogen vehicle sales in 2024 and it will likely remain so.
China remains king of the hydrogen world
The proud nation of China intends to maintain its position as the top global producer of hydrogen and hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles. Recent quarters have seen a decline in both production and sales, but this hasn’t led to a revision of the aim to see 50,000 hydrogen-fueled cars in operation by the end of this year. China is still leading in the market by a significant margin and in the first three quarters of 2024, the country sold more hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles than the total number of fuel cell cars sold in the rest of the world.
The Chinese hydrogen industry has the government’s full support
China’s government is reinforcing its hydrogen goals by fast-tracking commercialization with policies and legislation. The Medium- and Long-Term Plan for Hydrogen Industry Development, which covers the years 2021 to 2035, identified 2025 as a key milestone in the wide-scale adoption of hydrogen-fueled cars. China’s Energy Law, which went into effect early in 2025, officially recognizes hydrogen as an energy source. This lifts any legal barriers in the way of accelerated hydrogen development and adoption.
The hydrogen industry plan focuses on producing green hydrogen from renewable feedstock resources and aims to reach 100,000 to 200,000 tons per year. The plan also involves encouraging the use of clean hydrogen in other sectors such as energy storage, electricity generation, and industry.
China’s hydrogen truck sector is shifting
China’s domestic hydrogen fuel cell sector is experiencing a shift towards commercial trucks over other kinds of hydrogen vehicles. In 2020, buses accounted for the majority of hydrogen models at 90% of the market. In 2024, trucks made up 87% of the total hydrogen vehicle sales, which is a significant shift in just four years. Heavy trucks make up two-thirds of sales and a third is taken up by light trucks.
Closer to home, Ferrari is working on a hydrogen model and if it’s released in the United States, it could give Tesla a serious run for its money.
China is seeing a dip in hydrogen vehicle production and sales
The first dip in the hydrogen market came in 2024 with both production and sales figures dropping, resulting in a loss of growth momentum sustained since 2021. Production fell by 10.4% and sales by 12.6%. This decline is a significant setback for China’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicle industry and bad news in terms of the 50,000 vehicle target.
There are currently only half of that number of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the country’s roads and it’s unlikely that the figure will be reached by the end of the year as envisioned in the Medium- and Long-Term Plan for Hydrogen Industry Development, but it may come close.
There are, however, several strategies that could boost the hydrogen market:
- The reduction of costs
- The expansion of refueling infrastructure
- The optimization of policies
- The widening of market applications
New policies, reduced costs, and government support will promote a hydrogen boom
Industry experts say that strong government policies and a rapid decline in renewable energy costs will see China experiencing a boom in hydrogen energy development not too far from now. Government is backing attractive incentives and the infrastructure required for for hydrogen production and storage is expanding. Hydrogen can be used in a complementary manner to supplement solar and wind energy, an option that’s being employed more and more.
According to the Hydrogen Energy Industry Promotion Association (HEIPA), which falls under the Beijing-based trade body the China Association for the Promotion of Industrial Development, the number of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in operation nationwide is projected to reach around 45,000 by the end of 2025. The market size for vehicle-mounted hydrogen storage cylinders in China is expected to amount to upwards of 38 billion yuan ($5.23 billion) between 2025 and 2030.
China is positioning itself to become a global leader in hydrogen energy development in the coming years and even though the vehicle market saw a dip in the last year, it’s almost certain that the country will maintain its dominance in the production of hydrogen and related products. This will be helped along by a new way to create hydrogen that eliminates the production of CO₂ emissions entirely.