Shanghai (ZXZC)- Qingdao, a coastal city in China's Shandong province, aims to complete the construction of 50 plus hydrogen refueling stations and put 8,000 fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) on roads by the year of 2030, according to a 10-year plan local government issued recently.

According to the near-term plan set for 2020-2022, the city expects to initially construct a domestic renowned hydrogen industrial cluster and demonstration zones, and will strive to be part of a national level pilot city cluster for hydrogen FCV application. For the year of 2023-2025, Qingdao attempts to fulfill the building of a hydrogen industrial ecosystem and application system, and bolster the mass application of hydrogen energy and fuel cells.

Farizon Auto's F12/F10 fuel cell bus, photo credit: Geely Commercial Vehicles

As for the long-term target (2026-2030), Qingdao aims to see a comprehensive utilization of hydrogen in such areas as transport, logistics, power generation and supply of heat. By the end of 2030, Qingdao wishes to hit the world’s leading level in hydrogen production equipment, hydrogen storage technology and fuel cells. Besides, it plans to foster over 20 companies engaging in hydrogen business, five of which will each have annual revenue of over 1 billion yuan ($153,235,600) for main business. The full-year output of hydrogen industry is expected to reach roughly 50 billion yuan ($7.662 billion) until then.

Qingdao said in the plan it intends to create a hydrogen innovation platform, making breakthroughs in such core technologies as the development of FCVs, the integration of FCV power system, fuel cell stacks, key material and other core components.

What's more, the hydrogen-related infrastructures will be improved continually. According to the 10-year plan, the hydrogen transport network and refueling stations will be orderly constructed to ensure the terminal supply of hydrogen fuel. Meanwhile, some emerging technologies like IoT (Internet of Things), 5G and big data will be introduced to enhance the intelligence, reliability and operational efficiency of the hydrogen infrastructures.