The high cost of hydrogen fuel stood in the way of mass adoption of the clean energy source, the city’s environment minister has said after the government announced its strategy for hydrogen energy development.
Environment minister Tse Chin-wan told RTHK on Wednesday that the city would adopt hydrogen where it would be cost-effective, pointing to the high cost of the fuel and Hong Kong’s land crunch.
“But in the long term, traditional forms of fuel such as coal, petrol, and natural gas will be gradually phased out,” he said.
The city’s first hydrogen-fuelled double-decker bus commenced service in February, along with a fuelling facility at a Citybus depot in Sham Shui Po.
Those are among 14 trial projects that a government working group has greenlit as of this month. Other approved initiatives include hydrogen-powered rubbish collection vehicles and street washing vehicles to be trialled in the latter half of the year, as well as the MTR Corporation’s plan to have a hydrogen-fuelled light rail vehicle.
However, mass adoption of hydrogen as an energy source, which itself does not emit any carbon, was still “a considerable distance away,” Tse said. “The cost of hydrogen is quite expensive, much more so than other fuels that we use now.”
Transitional hydrogen
Tse added that to effectively achieve carbon neutrality, users would have to move away from “grey” hydrogen extracted from fossil fuels – a process that releases carbon. Instead, “green” hydrogen extracted from renewable energy sources should be used, Tse said, describing the hydrogen fuel used at present as “transitional.”
See also: City to enhance disaster planning amid ‘intensifying’ climate crisis
Tse said on Monday, when the government published a strategy report on hydrogen development, that hydrogen fuel would help Hong Kong “strive towards carbon neutrality, develop a new quality productive force and maintain international competitiveness.”
The city has pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2035 from 2005 levels and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Under the government’s plan, authorities will introduce legislative amendments in the first half of 2025 to regulate the manufacturing, storage, transport, supply and use of hydrogen fuel.
Tse also said China has tapped hydrogen as an important component of its national energy system in the future.
Clear targets
Shortly after the plan was announced, environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth suggested that the government set a long-term roadmap for hydrogen development with clear targets.
Also among its suggestions were to support research and innovation at local universities, strengthen hydrogen infrastructure, and to support regional collaboration in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) .
The GBA comprises Hong Kong, Macau and nine major cities in Guangdong province, and aims to further deepen the cooperation between mainland China and the two special administrative regions to support China’s technology innovation and economic development.
“The Hong Kong government must seize the opportunity to strengthen cooperation with the mainland in hydrogen development, leverage the country’s industrial base and policy support, and jointly promote hydrogen innovation,” the green group said.
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