China is developing cleaner energy to reach its carbon peak and neutrality goals. There is a town in southern China that is developing hydrogen energy usage.
China is developing cleaner energy to reach its carbon peak and neutrality goals. Our reporter Cao Chufeng visited a town in southern China that is developing hydrogen energy usage.
I’m riding a new kind of hydrogen energy shared bike. Beside me is the general manager of the company that developed it, Mr. Shi Tao.
You don’t need much strength to ride a bike like this, because it’s got a motor. But, most importantly, it’s environmentally friendly.
SHI TAO General Manager, Pearl Hydrogen (Foshan) Technology “Inside here is a hydrogen storage tank, which is the same as this green one in my hand. It releases hydrogen into this power box, which generates electricity and drives the motor. The whole process is zero emission and zero pollution.”
CAO CHUFENG Danzao Town, Foshan “This area is much more than just bike-riding friendly. It aims to become the ‘Silicon Valley’ for developing hydrogen energy.”
This 48 square kilometer area within Danzao Town, Foshan City in Guangdong Province is called Xianhu Hydrogen Valley.
On the streets, you can find hydrogen energy sweeping cars, hydrogen refuelling stations, and of course shared bikes. Right now, more than 40 hydrogen related organizations are located here, producing and developing hydrogen energy related products and conducting scientific research in the field.
LI ZHONGSHENG Deputy Mayor, Danzao Town “At present, Xianhu Hydrogen Valley gathers the development hydrogen energy as whole industry chain. Our goal is to build this place into both a demonstration zone for hydrogen energy and a high-end industrial amalgamation base.”
China is now the largest hydrogen producer in the world. But when it comes to best utilizing Hydrogen Fuel Cells, an expert in clean energy believes there is a challenge shared around the world.
PROF. LIU KE Dean, Clean Energy Institute Southern University of Science and Technology “A full truck of gasoline can be used for a long time, but a full truck of hydrogen is not that much. So now the solution is to use high pressure, but high pressure vessels are very heavy. So it’s difficult to solve the cost problem if gas version hydrogen is used as an energy carrier. I have always proposed that a type of liquid must be used as hydrogen carrier in order to fully use hydrogen fuel cells.”
Solar and wind are two other types of clean energy that are more commonly seen in the market. Professor Liu says China’s technology allows it to have the lowest cost of wind and solar electric power in the world. But finding an effective way to store this energy will be essential if China wants to achieve its environmental protection goals.
Originally published at CGTN