Ouyang Minggao: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology for Vehicles Has Reached Parity

During the International Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Vehicle Conference held in Shanghai from June 18 to 20, academician Ouyang Minggao, who is also the chairman of the International Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Association, delivered a speech at the main forum. He stated that the past five years have seen significant breakthroughs in China's fuel cell technology. In terms of fuel cell technology level, China has progressed from a following position in 2020 to a parity position in 2024. He noted that the development of fuel cell products in China is steadily advancing, making the country the leader in the number of fuel cell commercial vehicles. At the same time, major achievements have been made in the new energy battery industry chain. Specifically, in terms of reliability, the average first failure mileage and average interval failure mileage of fuel cell vehicles have both surpassed 100,000 kilometers. For environmental adaptability, breakthroughs have been made in low-temperature startup technology at minus 40 degrees Celsius. Economically, the hydrogen consumption of commercial vehicles is at an internationally leading level, with fuel cell buses consuming less than 5 kilograms of hydrogen per 100 kilometers. In terms of durability, the lifespan of fuel cells has exceeded 20,000 hours. He summarized five development trends for fuel cells: breakthroughs in high-activity, high-stability, high-temperature-resistant membrane electrodes; the emergence of a new generation of high-specific-power, long-lifespan, low-cost stacks entering the market with continuous cost reduction; high power density and efficient fuel cell engine technology becoming mainstream; increased industry focus on low costs across the entire lifecycle; and the expanding application scenarios. Meanwhile, developed countries are advancing their fuel cell development strategies towards high efficiency, high integration, high safety, high reliability, wide temperature range, and long lifespan, with artificial intelligence being integrated. The fuel cell vehicle technology roadmap 3.0 from the China Society of Automotive Engineers indicates that by 2030, China's fuel cell vehicles aim to compete with traditional internal combustion engine generators in terms of cost. In the next five years, the localization of fuel cell system components and stacks will be key to cost reduction. Additionally, high-power, long-lifespan, high-temperature fuel cells need to be developed. Ouyang Minggao pointed out that although China's fuel cell vehicles hold significant global market share, total sales remain relatively low, and the industry chain still has shortcomings. Overall, high costs in hydrogen energy infrastructure, onboard hydrogen tanks, and hydrogen production are still bottlenecks restricting the development of fuel cell vehicles in China and worldwide. He emphasized that truly reducing the cost of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles requires further promotion of an energy revolution. Ouyang Minggao mentioned that by 2025, China will enter the new energy 2.0 era, with integrated development of vehicle-road-cloud systems, light-storage-heat integration, source-network-load integration, and light-direct-flexible integration, where hydrogen energy will be a crucial support for the new energy revolution. If the economic viability of green hydrogen can be achieved, hydrogen energy can lead the transition to the new energy consumption 3.0 era. He predicts that by 2030, China will enter a period of explosive growth in the new energy revolution. The period from 2015 to 2025 serves as a pioneering phase for hydrogen fuel power systems, driving the development of hydrogen energy. From now until 2030, the production, storage, transportation, and supply chain development of hydrogen energy will foster its application across multiple fields. He stated that by 2050 to 2060, renewable energy generation will become the dominant source of electricity, driving the extensive growth of the green hydrogen industry chain, with the total output value of the entire industry chain reaching around 10 trillion yuan.