Shandong Province in eastern China has decided to waive highway tolls for hydrogen vehicles. This is the first time that such a measure has been implemented in China. While the supply of hydrogen cars in China is still insignificant, the government is trying to increase the utilization rate by lowering the price burden.
On the 1st, Shandong Province’s Ministry of Transportation announced that it would waive tolls on all hydrogen vehicles driving on the highway. Shandong province added that the policy will be piloted for two years first and then adjusted in a timely manner according to the implementation situation.
On the news, the stock price of hydrogen companies listed on the Chinese stock market hit an upper limit on the same day. Yantai Ishikawa Sealing Technology, a leading hydrogen company, closed at 21.55 yuan ($3.03) per share, up 20% from the previous day.
Shandong Province is the first region in China to waive highway tolls for hydrogen fuel vehicles, an industry analyst told financial news outlet Cai Lian Press, adding, «This policy will help increase the popularity of hydrogen vehicles in the Shandong market.»
The trial run is part of a five-year plan launched in April 2021 by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Shandong provincial government to encourage more drivers to use hydrogen cars. The plan also included installing hydrogen charging stations along highways connecting four cities, including 濟, to meet hydrogen fuel demand.
A hydrogen vehicle is a fuel cell vehicle that is driven by the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen in the air to produce electricity. China is also fostering the hydrogen industry at the government level as part of its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. However, despite the support of government subsidies, the growth rate is slow due to the obstacles of high cost.
According to «Ibao Lian», a hydrogen electricity company, a member of the Chinese Hydrogen Alliance (CHA), the cost of hydrogen to drive a hydrogen vehicle currently amounts to up to 70 yuan per kilogram.
In order for hydrogen cars to be more competitive than conventional internal combustion cars, they must go down to less than 30 yuan per kilogram, Lee Bao-lian explained.
Hydrogen cars are losing ground to other new energy vehicles (NEVs) in the Chinese automobile market. According to the Chinese Automobile Manufacturers Association, sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in China reached about 6,000 units last year, less than 1% of the 9.5 million NEV annual sales.
According to the CHA, China has installed 428 hydrogen vehicle charging stations in Guangdong, Shandong, Henan, Hebei, and Zhejiang provinces as of the end of last year. However, only about 40% of them are operating normally.
Source: mk.co.kr
