As one of the new energy vehicle technology routes, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have attracted worldwide attention. In recent years, my country has also made some progress in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. According to public statistics, as of the end of 2018, global sales of fuel cell passenger vehicles totaled more than 7,000. Among them, 3400 are in the United States, 2500 are in Japan, and 300 are in Europe, accounting for 86% of the total global sales of fuel cell passenger vehicles.

A hydrogen refueling station is a gas station that supplies hydrogen to fuel cell vehicles. In recent years, as hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have gradually entered the public’s field of vision, countries have increased the construction of related infrastructure, and the number of hydrogen refueling stations around the world has continued to increase. As of December 2018, the number of hydrogen refueling stations worldwide has reached nearly 400.

As of the end of December 2018, Europe had 160 hydrogen refueling stations in operation, accounting for 40% of the global total; Asia had 140, accounting for 35%; North America had 85, accounting for 21.25%. Europe and Asia are the main regions where hydrogen refueling stations are distributed worldwide.

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Take a look at the utilization of hydrogen energy in major countries around the world

America

As of December 2018, Toyota Mirai’s FCEV sales in the United States exceeded 3,400, and the United States has the world’s largest fuel cell forklift company Plug Power, and the United States leads the world in the number of fuel cell passenger vehicles and forklifts. Details are as follows:

Currently, more than 650MW of fuel cell energy has been transported globally. There are tens of thousands of fuel cell vehicles delivered globally, and 2 billion US dollars in fuel cell revenue. There are 5,600 commercial fuel cell vehicles, either leased out or sold, this number is more than any other country. There are more than 20,000 fuel cell forklifts. For example, some major companies use fuel cell forklifts.

In addition, there are already 75 hydrogen refueling stations in the United States. California has the highest concentration. The use of liquid hydrogen in fuel cell vehicles in the United States is very high, and 14% of the annual liquid hydrogen market demand is used in fuel cell vehicles.

Japan

Japan’s hydrogen energy industry is developed, and the Japanese government subsidizes the construction of hydrogen refueling stations and implements a purchase subsidy policy. The commercialization of fuel cell passenger vehicles by Toyota in Japan is very successful. At present, most of the fuel cell passenger vehicles sold in the world are produced by Toyota Mirai. In addition, Japan is a world leader in the commercial operation of household fuel cell combined heat and power stationary power stations and fuel cell vehicles.

In Japan, there are currently a total of 2,700 fuel cell vehicles running on the road. In 2017, a total of 150 tons of hydrogen was refueled. As of December 2018, there were 96 hydrogen refueling stations in Japan. The scale of Japan’s hydrogen energy related funding reached 260 million U.S. dollars in 2018. 40% mainly supported subsidies for hydrogen refueling stations, 15% used METIs for technology research and development, and 35% mainly supported hydrogen fuel vehicles and promoted static fuel cells. Usage and supply chain etc.

Germany

As of the end of December 2018, 26 new public hydrogen refueling stations have been put into operation in Germany, with a total of 60 public hydrogen refueling stations. There are about 500 fuel cell vehicles in Germany. The specific situation is roughly as follows:

Germany’s co-investment in fuel cell technology has now reached the fourth round of joint investment by companies to accelerate the development of the hydrogen energy market.

From 2007 to 2018, Germany has invested nearly 4 billion euros in the hydrogen fuel cell industry for research and development of hydrogen fuel cell technology. In order to boost the popularity of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, Germany built 50 hydrogen refueling stations in 2016, and currently there are 60 hydrogen refueling stations. The government plans to expand to 100 by 2020, and plans to build 400 hydrogen refueling stations by 2025.

South Korea

The South Korean government’s subsidies for hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen refueling stations will reach 2 billion euros in the next five years. The goal is to provide funding for 15,000 fuel cell vehicles and 1,000 hydrogen buses by 2022. Among them, the funding plan includes 310 new hydrogen refueling stations.

In terms of stationary fuel cells, South Korea mainly develops large-scale fuel cell power plants. Doosan Group is the main body in the construction of large-scale fuel cell power station projects, and will build Korea’s largest fuel cell production base with an annual output of 63 MW.

Construction of hydrogen refueling stations in major countries in 2018

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How is the development of my country’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicle market?

Looking back on the past, my country started to build hydrogen refueling stations in Beijing and Shanghai in 2006. In the past two years, there are 10 newly built and operated hydrogen refueling stations, and more than 20 hydrogen refueling stations are under construction and planning. Hydrogen refueling stations are mainly concentrated in first- and second-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Chengdu. At present, my country’s key core components of hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, and hydrogen refueling all rely on imports, and there is no bargaining power. The construction cost of hydrogen refueling stations is very high.

As of the end of 2018, my country’s fuel cell vehicle sales exceeded 1,500, reaching 1,527, and the products were mainly concentrated in the field of commercial vehicles. Among them, some models of fuel cell buses, buses, and trucks have been mass-produced, and they are the first to enter the operation stage. There are relatively few hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicle companies. Among them, SAIC has invested a lot in the field of hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicles, and it is still in the demonstration operation stage.

The author counted the fuel cell vehicle information that entered the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s “Recommended Models for the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles” (“Catalogue”) in 2018. At present, a total of 13 batches of “Catalogues” have been released. As of the 13th batch, a total of 78 hydrogen fuel cell vehicle models have been launched in China, most of which are commercial vehicles. It can be found that so far, my country’s fuel cell vehicles have mainly focused on the fields of buses and transportation logistics vehicles.

Number of models entered into the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2018

Statistics on the number of hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicles selected by major companies in the 1-12 recommended catalogs in 2018

Link to this article：The hydrogen energy utilization of major countries in the world is different, how is the development of my country’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicle market?