On December 8, 2021, the UNDP hydrogen energy industry conference opened in Nanhai District, Foshan City, Guangdong Province. As an important part of green energy, hydrogen energy has attracted the attention of global investors in recent years. The international Hydrogen Energy Commission predicts that by 2050, hydrogen energy technology and industry will reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by 6 billion tons per year and generate a market scale of US $2.5 trillion. Guangdong Province has long had a layout in hydrogen energy. Foshan has become a highland for the development of hydrogen fuel cells in China. Danzao Town is the carrier of core industries and scientific research platforms. The “Xianhu hydrogen Valley” in the town has a number of well-known hydrogen energy enterprises, and has built China’s first commercial hydrogen refueling station and the first hydrogen energy into 10000 smart energy demonstration community projects. In recent years, many cities in Dawan district have introduced a large number of enterprises and talents around the hydrogen energy industry, constantly gathering scientific and innovative advantages and promoting high-quality development. By the end of 2020, there were more than 7000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in China, distributed in 17 provinces, with about 2500 in Guangdong ranking first. The main concerns are as follows:
First, the development of hydrogen energy industry is an important path for China to achieve the dual carbon goal. The essence of the double carbon goal is carbon dioxide emission reduction. At present, China’s carbon emissions mainly come from the fields of industry, power generation, construction and transportation. In 2020, China’s carbon emission per unit GDP will be 6.7 tons of carbon dioxide / 10000 US dollars, which is far higher than the world average level. It is a very arduous task to achieve the maximum emission reduction of carbon dioxide in a short time. China must develop renewable energy by leaps and bounds and speed up the construction of a modern energy system dominated by renewable energy. Hydrogen energy will play an important role in emission reduction and energy structure transformation with a variety of advantages. First, hydrogen energy has more options in achieving the goal of double carbon. From the perspective of carbon, hydrogen energy promotes the implementation of carbon neutralization strategy through the three dimensions of decarbonization, carbon fixation and negative carbon. Decarbonization will become the first driving force for the development of hydrogen energy related industries. Second, the application scenarios of hydrogen energy are more abundant. In contrast, lithium and fuel cells are limited to providing vehicle power, while hydrogen fuel cells are not only a battery device, but also a part of the energy system. The national layout of hydrogen energy industry focuses on the substitution of energy system. The application of hydrogen energy is far from only in the field of transportation, and the early industrial and power scenarios will be equally broad. According to the prediction of IEA, in 2050, the global hydrogen energy will account for 66.5%, followed by industry, accounting for 62.9%, and the power industry, accounting for 55%. Third, hydrogen energy has the property of real clean and circular energy. Hydrogen comes from water and is a clean energetic material transformed from water. From the perspective of material energy density, the heat generated after combustion of each kilogram of hydrogen is about 3 times that of gasoline, 3.9 times that of alcohol and 4.5 times that of coke. Its renewable and low emission characteristics make it more sustainable than other methods. Fourth, the breakthrough of hydrogen energy technology is expected. The challenge faced by the development of hydrogen energy industry is that the cost of hydrogen production electricity price accounts for a high proportion, and the dislocation between green hydrogen rich areas and application areas is serious, resulting in the high price of green hydrogen production, storage and transportation. The Cecep Solar Energy Co.Ltd(000591) photolysis water scale hydrogen production technology has made a breakthrough this year, which can realize efficient and clean resource recycling, and will form an energy system dominated by hydrogen and electricity in the future.
Second, the hydrogen energy industry chain in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Dawan district has begun to take shape. Since “promoting the construction of hydrogenation facilities” was written into the government work report of the national two sessions in 2019, the development of hydrogen energy industry in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Bay area has accelerated. Led by Guangzhou and Foshan, Guangdong is accelerating the layout of hydrogen energy industry. In June 2020, The hydrogen energy industry development plan of Guangzhou (2019-2030) announced that Guangzhou will be built into a hydrogen energy R & D center in Dawan District, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and a hydrogen energy industry system integrating production, storage and transportation, trading and application will be built by 2030, with an output value of more than 200 billion yuan. Foshan has been laid out since 2009, and Nanhai, Gaoming and Shunde have relatively mature hydrogen energy industry ecology, which is very popular in China Foshan hydrogen energy industry planning (2018-2030) It is pointed out that we should accelerate the industrialization and large-scale application of hydrogen energy trams, build a hydrogen energy industry cluster by 2030, and realize a hydrogen energy related output value of 100 billion yuan. In 2019, the world’s first commercially operated hydrogen energy tram was launched in Foshan Gaoming. In 2020, the country’s first new network integrating oil, hydrogen, electric energy supply and chain convenience services – Guangdong petroleum Foshan Zhangkeng oil and hydrogen joint construction station will be completed. At present, more than 20 upstream, middle and downstream hydrogen fuel cell projects have settled in Foshan (Yunfu) industrial transfer industrial park in Yunfu. In Shenzhen, Harbin Institute of technology (Shenzhen) the hydrogen energy and fuel cell research institute and the Hydrogen Energy Laboratory of the University of New South Wales in Australia have been established one after another. Dawan district has a strong manufacturing foundation and scientific and technological research incubation strength, coupled with the clean trend of industrial production and deep support of the automobile industry, which are conducive to the rapid development of the hydrogen energy industry. There are hydrogen refueling stations in operation, completed, under construction and proposed in Guangdong Province A total of 61, ranking first in China. In the future, Guangzhou, Foshan, Yunfu and other cities in the region will strengthen cooperation in hydrogen energy industry, closely link with Shenzhen scientific research and Dongguan equipment manufacturing, strengthen cooperation with Huizhou Daya Bay coastal petrochemical enterprises, improve the effective utilization of by-product hydrogen in related industries, and provide a strong and clean energy support system for the construction of a world-class Bay area.
Third, the hydrogen energy industry has received high attention from global capital, governments and academic research institutions abroad. The hydrogen energy observation update report released by the international Hydrogen Energy Council and McKinsey disclosed that hydrogen energy investment has shown an accelerating trend. Since February 2021, 131 large-scale hydrogen energy projects have been announced worldwide, with a total of 359 projects. By 2030, the total investment in hydrogen energy projects and the whole value chain is estimated to be $500 billion. At present, more than 30 countries have formulated specific hydrogen strategies and allocated US $76 billion in government funds. Compared with Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Bay areas, the other three Bay areas in the world began to layout the hydrogen energy industry as early as 10 years ago. In the New York Bay area, academic institutions such as Columbia University, Cornell University, Yale University and Princeton Institute of higher studies have long carried out hydrogen fuel cell research, and now it has become the world’s leading hydrogen fuel cell technology R & D base. Under the guidance of technology and policy support, the total revenue of the hydrogen energy industry in New York City exceeded US $353 million in 2017, Connecticut’s hydrogen industry contributes more than $700 million in tax revenue. In the Tokyo Bay area, the development of hydrogen fuel cell commercial technology began in 1981. In 2014, it took the lead in launching the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell passenger car and built 100 hydrogen refueling stations, ranking first in the world. Hydrogen medical treatment, hydrogen health care and hydrogen health care products have also entered the stage of commercial production in Japan. In the San Francisco Bay area, a hydrogen energy highway network has been built since 2004. Since 2007, a tax free support policy has been implemented for hydrogen fuel cell R & D and equipment production enterprises, There are nearly 5000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (including passenger cars and heavy trucks) will be put into use. The government has also issued a roadmap for renewable hydrogen energy, increased financial support, and plans to build 200 hydrogen refueling stations by 2025, and the total number of hydrogen fueled vehicles will reach 5 million by 2030. Compared with the three major Bay areas in the world, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, it is necessary and conditional to make a difference in the hydrogen energy industry.
Fourth, the development of hydrogen energy industry in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao needs the joint participation and support of the government and financial institutions. Commercial banks shoulder the mission of green financial services. They should not only grasp the opportunities for the development of hydrogen energy industry, but also face the risks and difficulties faced by the industry. First, strengthen the investment and loan linkage with securities, funds and other financial institutions, use high-quality projects in the region to attract global capital, introduce advanced technologies, ideas and products, and better support and guide the healthy development of hydrogen energy industry in the bay area. Second, promote the innovation of government supporting policies, improve market regulation means such as industrial policies, regulations and carbon trading quotas, facilitate banks to carry out financing businesses such as carbon emission rights, energy use rights and franchise rights of energy-saving and environmental protection projects as collateral, provide basic conditions for banks to expand hydrogen energy credit and reduce the compliance risk of hydrogen energy credit. At the same time, we should also consider establishing a credit risk compensation mechanism for hydrogen energy industry, and the government or investment and guarantee institutions should establish a hydrogen energy credit risk compensation fund to improve the availability of hydrogen energy enterprises and project financing. Third, build a bank risk management mechanism suitable for the development of hydrogen energy industry. Strengthen exchanges and cooperation with universities, research institutions and industry associations, and timely track and interpret the latest changes in industrial policies. As emerging industries such as hydrogen energy and hydrogen battery automobile are still in the initial stage, they are still facing the dilemma of high economic cost, which is mainly reflected in the high cost of hydrogen production and the high construction cost of hydrogen refueling station, and the country still has a lot of work to promote in ensuring market demand and encouraging and expanding hydrogen energy application. There is great uncertainty in the short-term income of hydrogen energy industry, Therefore, the bank cannot judge the risk law of the hydrogen energy industry from the traditional perspective and experience. It should design the corresponding credit, rating and risk control system, timely adjust the credit strategy, and truly help the hydrogen energy industry to promote the high-quality economic growth of the bay area.
