Abstract:

 In September 2020, the Chinese central government announced a new policy to develop hydrogen energy and fuel cell applications. It emphasized fuel cell commercial vehicles rather than passenger vehicles. Such an emphasis is drastically different from the hydrogen and fuel cell strategies of other leading economies. This study examines the relationship between energy policies and the economic feasibility of hydrogen energy for road transport in China, especially focusing on hydrogen as energy storage for renewables – also known as green hydrogen.  A well-to-wheel model is developed to estimate the carbon emissions of the hydrogen supply chain as well as that of the fuel cell electric vehicles. In the meantime, a levelised cost of hydrogen model is adopted to analyze the cost of hydrogen as storage for renewable energy. These are followed by a total cost of ownership model applied to assess the cost of owning and driving fuel cell electric vehicle, fueled by the hydrogen produced from renewables, compared to alternative vehicle powertrains, especially those fossil fuel-based. On such a basis, the relation between energy policies and the competitiveness of hydrogen produced from renewable energy and the fuel cell electric vehicle is discussed. The authors propose that policymakers consider developing such electricity market mechanisms and the pricing of carbon emissions developed in China to further enhance hydrogen energy competitiveness, especially encouraging its coupling with renewable energy capacities.