China's hydrogen industry rides green wave with electrolyser export skyrocketing

China's hydrogen industry has seen a significant increase in export orders for electrolysers, driven by a global shift towards clean energy and a growing number of green hydrogen projects abroad.

Electrolysers, the key equipment used to produce hydrogen from water, are likely to become a new growth driver for the export sector following batteries, photovoltaics, and electric vehicles.

One leading Chinese electrolyser manufacturer in Handan City, north China's Hebei province, has already doubled its production in the first half of this year compared to the same period of last year, with export orders primarily coming from Europe and North America.

The company is actively expanding its production capacity, with over 50 percent of its future output earmarked for overseas markets.

"Our current production capacity is 350 sets of water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment per year, and by the same period of next year, this number will reach over 1,000," said Ding Rui, deputy general manager of the hydrogen energy technology company. Industry experts highlight the growing global trend of using renewable energy sources like solar and wind power to produce green hydrogen through water electrolysis. This has led to a significant increase in green hydrogen projects under construction and planning worldwide.

The Middle East and North Africa, which are rich in renewable energy resources, are particularly eager to import electrolyser equipment due to their limited domestic supply capacity. This presents significant market opportunities for Chinese electrolyser manufacturers.

"According to our statistics, by 2030, global green hydrogen production capacity will exceed 40 million tons per year, corresponding to an electrolyser installed capacity of about 460 gigawatts, creating a vast market space worth nearly a hundred billion dollars," said Zhang Yu, secretary-general of the Hydrogen Energy Branch of the China Association for the Promotion of Industry Development.

China's hydrogen industry rides green wave with electrolyser export skyrocketing

People of the Qiang ethnic group in southwest China's Sichuan Province put on grand festivities on its traditional new year, which fell on Friday this year.

The Qiang New Year Festival, or Harvest Festival in the Qiang language, is the most important traditional festival for the ethnic group, whose people mostly live in and around the Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan. The Qiang New Year usually falls on the first day of the tenth month of the traditional Chinese calendar, with its central themes including celebrating the harvest, sending blessings, and praying for peace.

The first day of the New Year revelries featured the Qiang people clad in beautiful traditional costumes dancing and singing, time-honored ritual sacrifice ceremonies, a large hotpot-themed banquet, a lively dragon dance, an intangible heritage exhibition, and other folk activities.

"We enjoy quite a bountiful life now. Today is the Qiang New Year. I want to wish my folks of the Qiang ethnic group, including all my family members and friends, a happy new year. Good luck and happiness to you all," said Yu Xingbao, a staff member of the Ancient Qiang City, a popular tourist destination.

The festival was listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009 for its valuable cultural significance.

China's Qiang ethnic group celebrates traditional new year