Three departments: By 2030, the national stock of fuel cell vehicles is expected to double compared to 2025, striving to reach 100,000 vehicles.

On March 16, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission issued a notice on conducting pilot projects for comprehensive hydrogen application. The notice mentioned that by 2030, hydrogen energy in urban clusters will achieve large-scale application in multiple fields, with the average price of hydrogen for end-users dropping to below 25 yuan/kg, striving to reach around 15 yuan/kg in some advantageous areas; the national stock of fuel cell vehicles is expected to double from 2025 and reach 100,000 vehicles. By expanding the scale of application, it aims to drive breakthroughs in hydrogen application technology, processes, equipment innovation, achieve upgrades in fuel cells, electrolyzers, storage and transportation devices, and materials, promote hydrogen energy as a new economic growth point, and support the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. It is mentioned that the central government will provide financial support to urban clusters through rewards using the "reward in place of subsidy" approach. Reward standards will be set based on the application status of end-user products or the scale of hydrogen use in various scenarios. The pilot period for each urban cluster is 4 years, with a maximum reward limit of no more than 1.6 billion yuan during the pilot period for each urban cluster. The reward funds will be used locally to support comprehensive hydrogen application, and cannot be used for budget balancing, repayment of government debt, or settling overdue business accounts, among other purposes. Each urban cluster should maximize the benefits of the reward funds, effectively reduce the cost of hydrogen use, and transmit them to the end-user product consumption link. Regarding fuel cell vehicles, the focus will be on building hydrogen highways and corridors, promoting the large-scale application of commercial vehicles in medium-heavy, medium-long-distance transportation, and cold chain logistics, encouraging the use of vehicles in public transportation, urban logistics, city sanitation, construction waste transportation, and exploring applications in official vehicles, online car-hailing services, among others. Source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Finance, National Development and Reform Commission Notice on Conducting Pilot Projects for Comprehensive Hydrogen Application Translated on March 6, 2026.