The Symposium on the Promotion of Hydrogen Compressed Natural Gas was Successfully Held to Promote the Industrialization of Hydrogen Energy in Sichuan Province

In order to further implement the plan of the test run of Hydrogen Compressed Natural Gas (HCNG) vehicles proposed in the Sichuan Hydrogen Energy Promotion Working Conference, on November 1, the symposium on promotion of HCNG was held in Chengdu. Yongqing Zhou, the inspector of Sichuan Economic & Information Committee, Zhixu Zheng, deputy general manager of Chengdu Public Transportation Group Co., Ltd., Jianbo He, Sichuan Natural Gas Investment Co., Ltd., Lifeng Chen, Chairman of Sichuan Gasoline Technology Co., Ltd., and Jianbo Yang, chief designer of Chengdu Public Bus Co., Ltd., Changbiao Liu, general manager of the Beijing Hydrogen Era Technology Co. Ltd., and other leaders of relevant enterprises and institutions attended the meeting.

At the symposium, the representatives of the companies made a detailed report on the current status of the development of HCNG at home and abroad, and the progress of the development of HCNG buses in Sichuan province, as well as the progress of the construction of fixed hydrogen re-fuelling stations. The representative from Chengdu Public Bus Co., Ltd. said that the technology of HCNG vehicle is very mature and it has relatively low cost, which is advantageous to be promoted in Sichuan. Nevertheless, there were two challenges. One is from July 1, 2019, the National Emission Standards IV will be implemented in advance in the key areas, the Pearl River Delta region, and the Chengdu-Chongqing region, and the government will encourage the use of gas vehicles that meet the National Emission Standards IV. Therefore, the emission standards of HCNG vehicles should also be adjusted to meet national standards. Second, restricted by the hydrogen re-fuelling stations, the test run of the HCNG vehicle in Sichuan also needs to be carefully selected.

Hydrogen energy is a kind of clean and renewable energy with high energy density. It plays an important role in promoting the transformation and upgrading of the automobile industry and effectively solving urban air pollution. In February 2018, Sichuan Natural Gas & Energy Investment Company and Tsinghua University, Dongfang Electric, Qidi Energy, Beijing Hydrogen Era Technology Co. Ltd. and other scientific research institutions and key enterprises built a Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Industrial Innovation Alliance in Sichuan Province, which is enterprise-centered, and combining with production, education and research. The Industrial Innovation Alliance will promote the improvement of industrial chains of hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, hydrogen transportation, hydrogen re-fueling infrastructure and fuel cell applications. It will also help hydrogen energy industry in the western region to achieve national leadership in key core technologies and the transformation of scientific research results. In June of 2018, with the P09 bus line running in the Pidu District, the demonstration line of the first HCNG bus in Chengdu stepped into the commercial demonstration operation. It is reported that there are more than 50 hydrogen-related enterprises and research institutes in Chengdu, and a relatively complete industrial chain has been formed. After listening to the relevant briefings, Yongqing Zhou, the inspector of the Sichuan Provincial Economic & Information Committee, said that the development of the hydrogen energy industry in the western region has obvious advantages and great potential. We need to grasp the golden opportunity provided by the needs of HCNG vehicles, focusing on meeting the industry standards and doing the construction of hydrogen re-fueling stations. In this way, we can improve the further perfect the industrial chain, promoting the development of hydrogen energy industrialization, and give it vitality.