China leads global hydrogen production amid clean energy race

China accounted for more than a third of global hydrogen output last year, making it possibly the biggest producer as the country reached a critical point to push for large-scale projects.

The country produced about 36.5 million tons of hydrogen last year, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said in a report on Monday. Fossil fuel-based hydrogen remains the dominant source, accounting for 56 per cent of the production, while hydrogen generated through electrolysis process amounted to only 320,000 tons, it said.

Global hydrogen production probably reached 100 million tons in 2024, according to an estimate by Paris-based International Energy Agency, up from about 97 million tons in 2023. 2025 is a crucial year for driving China’s hydrogen industry towards large-scale development, an NEA official said.

The country still faces challenges, such as improving the economic viability of hydrogen projects and industry standards, said Xu Jilin, deputy director general of the Department of Energy Conservation and Science and Technology Equipment. Beijing would increase its support to spur innovation and international cooperation in the next five years, he added.

“The number of planned large-scale renewable hydrogen projects is growing quickly, but the technology and operations still lag behind traditional methods,” he said. “This has resulted in slow implementation and limited exploration of application scenarios.”

  

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