The national comprehensive hydrogen energy application pilot program has officially been unveiled, marking a significant milestone for the sector.

Among the handful of city clusters granted approval nationwide, only five secured a place on this highly competitive list.

Notably, Chengdu, Deyang, and Panzhihua have all been included within the Xinjiang-Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle pilot cluster, raising the question of why Sichuan has earned this distinction.

Strengths Rooted in a Complete Hydrogen Ecosystem

The year 2026 is widely regarded as a pivotal moment for hydrogen energy's transition toward large-scale deployment.

During this period, hydrogen was designated as a key future industry in the 15th Five-Year Plan, with the launch of this national pilot serving as a clear signal that blueprints are moving from paper to practice.

Sichuan began its hydrogen journey well before this national push, with Dongfang Electric Corporation initiating membrane electrode research and development back in 2010, targeting breakthroughs in core fuel cell technologies.

"Today, producing fuel cells represents just one segment of our business," noted Hu Jian, Deputy Director of the Industry and Market Development Department at Dongfang Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd..

The company has established a full-chain layout covering hydrogen production, storage, transportation, refueling, and application, with products moving from laboratories to roads at scale.

Over 1,600 hydrogen-powered trucks, sanitation vehicles, and buses have been deployed across Sichuan and Beijing, collectively operating safely for more than 73 million kilometers.

Additionally, "solar-hydrogen-oxygen-thermal" zero-carbon stations have been built and put into use in Ganzi and Aba, with 500 Nm3/h PEM electrolyzers and 2,000 Nm3/h alkaline electrolyzers already achieving commercial application.

As leading enterprises evolve, the broader industrial chain continues to expand as well.

"The hydrogen sector has reached a critical stage where accelerated high-quality development is essential," stated officials during a provincial work conference in 2024, characterizing Sichuan's current phase as one of accumulation poised for breakthroughs.

"What we have accumulated is the unique advantage of a complete 'production-storage-transport-refueling-application' industrial chain," explained a representative from the Automobile and Rail Transit Equipment Division of Sichuan's Department of Economy and Information Technology.

The strengths are particularly pronounced at both ends of the value chain, as highlighted by Xi'an Aerospace Science and Technology Industrial Co., Ltd.—specifically, the hydrogen supply side and the hydrogen consumption side.

These two critical links address the fundamental questions of where hydrogen comes from and where it goes.

This year, the company's liquid hydrogen demonstration project landed in Panzhihua, drawn by the region's abundant industrial by-product hydrogen resources and road conditions suitable for liquid hydrogen heavy-duty truck trials.

In terms of hydrogen supply, Sichuan has developed a diversified landscape dominated by industrial by-product hydrogen, with green hydrogen accelerating its growth trajectory.

Given the province's abundant hydropower, wind, and solar resources, the potential for "green electricity to green hydrogen" is particularly expansive.

When it comes to application scenarios, Sichuan ranks among the nation's richest regions for hydrogen utilization.

In the transportation sector, for instance, the province has planned a "one corridor, multiple routes" system, successfully connecting the Chengdu-Chongqing "Hydrogen Corridor" and other green hydrogen routes spanning Panxi, Ya'an, Chengdu, Deyang, Mianyang, and Guangyuan.

To date, the province has deployed 1,746 hydrogen vehicles and built 25 refueling stations, achieving the largest demonstration scale in western China.

Addressing the Challenge of Cost-Effective Hydrogen Adoption

While Sichuan's hydrogen resources are substantial, a significant hurdle remains on the path to industrial expansion.

"It's still a chicken-and-egg problem," explained the Xi'an Aerospace Science and Technology Industrial Co., Ltd. representative—high application costs undermine market competitiveness, yet without scaled deployment, innovation breakthroughs needed to reduce prices cannot be achieved.

Using the company's Panzhihua liquid hydrogen project as an example, liquid hydrogen is approximately three times denser than 35MPa high-pressure gaseous hydrogen, allowing hydrogen heavy-duty trucks to achieve longer ranges with the same volume.

However, the additional liquefaction process directly impacts product competitiveness, and since liquid hydrogen requires temperatures as low as minus 253 degrees Celsius, the technology still needs refinement through real-world testing.

Panzhihua has opened its doors as a valuable testing ground for this purpose.

"We're driving demonstration operations with commercialization as the goal," the representative revealed—hydrogen liquefaction equipment at the Madiandian refueling station successfully produced liquid hydrogen in 2025, with plans for hydrogen heavy-duty trucks to begin trial runs on the national highway between the station and Pingdi Town by the end of September, gathering crucial operational data.

Panzhihua isn't alone in providing policy support and platforms.

"We're leveraging key industry chain development and using scenario-based applications as our breakthrough," noted the representative from Sichuan's Department of Economy and Information Technology, describing this as the province's strategy to resolve the "chicken-and-egg" dilemma.

In recent years, Sichuan has introduced special policies and plans including the "Action Plan for Further Promoting Full-Chain Hydrogen Industry Development and Application in Sichuan Province (2024-2027)" and the "Medium and Long-Term Development Plan for Sichuan's Hydrogen Energy Industry (2025-2035)."

These policies have broken new ground by allowing green hydrogen production projects outside chemical industry parks, establishing integrated hydrogen production-refueling stations, and offering free highway access for hydrogen vehicles.

Cities including Chengdu, Panzhihua, Deyang, and Ganzi have followed suit with local supporting policies, fostering province-wide coordination and a unified push to accelerate comprehensive hydrogen industry development.

While Sichuan has built a solid foundation for the "major examination" of scaled hydrogen application, room for improvement remains.

Multiple interviewees pointed out that current challenges include limited application scenarios, insufficient green hydrogen supply, high prices, and difficulties in storage, transport, and refueling—factors that constrain both hydrogen adoption and industrial chain growth.

Yet every challenge presents an opportunity.

From Hu Jian's perspective, inclusion in the pilot program offers Sichuan "at least three dimensions of potential": market expansion, technology benchmark effects, and accelerated industrial clustering.

"The advancement of demonstration projects will generate substantial demand for equipment procurement and scenario applications," Hu Jian noted, adding that Dongfang Hydrogen Energy will continue refining core hydrogen equipment such as fuel cell systems, water electrolysis systems, and multi-energy supply solutions to build benchmark projects and develop an exportable "Sichuan Solution" as early as possible.

A Path of Complementary Strengths to Expand the Pie

To formulate this "Sichuan Solution," Chengdu, Deyang, and Panzhihua—as integral components of the pilot city cluster—will focus on promoting hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, advancing key technology and equipment development, and driving innovative applications.

"Leveraging complementary strengths" extends beyond provincial borders as well.

The three selected pilot clusters, including the Northeast (with eastern Inner Mongolia)-Yangtze River Delta and the Xinjiang-Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, feature cities that are geographically distant rather than clustered together.

This deliberate design emphasizes cluster-specific characteristics and inter-regional coordination, preventing "small but complete" duplication and low-level repetitive construction.

For instance, Xinjiang's large-scale water, wind, and solar hydrogen projects will supply abundant hydrogen resources to the Sichuan-Chongqing region, while the area's industrial foundation and vast market will provide robust equipment manufacturing and scenario support.

Hu Wanling, Vice President of Houpu Clean Energy Group Co., Ltd., also observed a notable shift: compared to previous national fuel cell vehicle demonstration city clusters, this pilot expands from "single-point demonstration" in transportation to a comprehensive hydrogen application ecosystem structured as "one general fuel cell vehicle scenario plus N industrial application scenarios plus X innovative application scenarios."

The pilot sets concrete targets: by 2030, hydrogen should achieve large-scale application across multiple sectors within the clusters, with average terminal hydrogen prices falling below 25 yuan per kilogram, and ideally around 15 yuan per kilogram in some advantageous regions.

Nationally, fuel cell vehicle numbers should double from 2025 levels, aiming for 100,000 units.

"Using 'hydrogen application effectiveness' as the benchmark, the key is achieving scaled deployment across multiple domains to drive down costs across the entire industry chain," Hu Wanling explained—hydrogen transportation is indeed a relatively mature application segment, but it has its limits, making industry expansion a question that all stakeholders must address.

Houpu Clean Energy has been actively transforming from a pure equipment supplier into a comprehensive hydrogen full-chain solution provider, expanding beyond refueling station construction into areas like hydrogen chemicals and hydrogen storage applications.

The company has also expanded internationally, exporting hydrogen refueling machines, complete refueling systems, and containerized 1000 Nm3/h alkaline water electrolysis equipment, while solid-state hydrogen storage systems are gaining traction in applications such as backup power for industrial parks and renewable energy consumption, with successful entry into South American markets.

Expanding the "pie" has become a shared strategic choice across the industry.

Hu Jian indicated that while continuing to deepen transportation applications, Dongfang Hydrogen Energy will accelerate expansion into industrial green hydrogen decarbonization scenarios such as metallurgy and chemicals, launching more combined heat and power, water electrolysis, and integrated energy supply projects while driving coordinated upstream and downstream development.

Meanwhile, Xi'an Aerospace Science and Technology Industrial Co., Ltd. has developed a self-propelled liquid-hydrogen-powered carbonization weeder—an automated agricultural machine—set to undergo field trials in Panzhihua soon.

The "hydrogen breeze" carries visions of the future.

"We will adhere to a chain-thinking approach, seize the pilot opportunity to accelerate technological innovation, and advance industrial projects including photochemical water splitting for hydrogen, multi-energy supply systems, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in coordinated implementation," stated the representative from Sichuan's Department of Economy and Information Technology.

Looking ahead, Sichuan will also scientifically plan hydrogen refueling infrastructure, expand and extend the "hydrogen corridors," consolidate its leading position in hydrogen transportation, and develop demonstration scenarios in hydrogen-based chemicals, hydrogen-powered drones, and hydrogen locomotives—using multi-scenario, large-scale applications to drive cost reduction, efficiency gains, and innovation across the entire value chain.