Hydrogen-powered vehicles making SW China greener

CHONGQING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- At a hydrogen refueling station on an expressway linking the city of Chengdu and Chongqing Municipality in southwest China, Yang Wenbin is refueling his hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. Within five minutes, the tank is filled with hydrogen fuel.

"The vehicle can run more than 500 km once the tank is filled up. It's very powerful when climbing a slope with a heavy load," said Yang, noting that it emits only water, which is eco-friendly.

In late 2021, Chongqing cooperated with Sichuan Province to build a "hydrogen corridor," which will see around 1,000 hydrogen fuel-cell logistics vehicles going into service by 2025, along with some hydrogen refueling stations being built.

Currently, more than 100 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles like Yang's are traveling between the two cities every day.

Over the past few years, a batch of facilities used to produce hydrogen and refueling stations were built and put into use. In December 2023, a major hydrogen supply center for vehicles in southwest China went operational in Chongqing.

The center can supply 6,400 kg of high-purity hydrogen per day at full capacity, enough to meet the hydrogen consumption needs of 260 hydrogen-fueled heavy-duty trucks, said Liu Huabin, deputy general manager of the Chongqing Petrochemical Sales Company of Sinopec, China's main oil refiner. The program is expected to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 27,000 tonnes per year, according to Liu.

Eyeing the potential, many enterprises in Chongqing have rolled out new car models, while key supporting enterprises have taken root there.

Qingling Motors, a Chongqing-based commercial vehicle manufacturer, is among them. To date, Qingling has sold more than 500 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.

"This year, we aim to promote the research and development and sales of hydrogen-fueled heavy-duty trucks," said Zeng Ke, marketing director of the company, adding that the company looks to expand the market to the Yangtze River Economic Belt and regions along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

With the aim of pursuing high-quality and green growth, China has announced that it will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.