The State Power Investment Corporation Ltd broke ground recently at a hydrogen R&D center and production plant in the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone, or WHDZ – located in Wuhan, in Central China's Hubei province – according to local media reports.
Since the start of the year, many cities across the country have expanded their hydrogen energy industries, with the build-out of some 40 hydrogen energy industry supply chain projects confirmed.
According to the predictions of the Hydrogen Industrial Technology Innovation Alliance of China, by 2050 the annual output value of the hydrogen energy sector will be about 12 trillion yuan ($1.85 trillion), making it a new growth springboard for economic development.
The WHDZ has reportedly been taking the lead in attracting leading companies in the hydrogen energy industry to create a hydrogen sector cluster. This covers the entire industrial chain, from proton exchange membranes, membrane electrodes, hydrogen fuel cell stacks to hydrogen energy vehicle production and manufacturing.
The cumulative investment in the first and second phases of the State Power Investment Corporation Ltd – or SPIC – base project is reportedly 7 billion yuan.
The first phase will cost a projected 3 billion yuan. It will establish a fuel cell proton membrane research and development platform, carry out research and development and pilot trials of various series of proton exchange membranes.
It will also create a proton membrane production line, a fuel cell stack production line and a fuel cell power system production line.
At present, construction is reportedly progressing smoothly in the WHDZ.
The SPIC is a State-owned backbone enterprise directly managed by the central government. It is one of China's five largest electricity utilities and is reportedly the world's largest solar power generation company.
