Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs)

Abstract

As clean and efficient secondary energy, hydrogen energy brings new opportunities for developing FCEVs. In recent years, China has attached great importance to developing the hydrogen energy industry and included hydrogen energy in the national “14th Five-Year Plan” and the 2035 Long-Range Objectives.

As clean and efficient secondary energy, hydrogen energy brings new opportunities for developing FCEVs. In recent years, China has attached great importance to developing the hydrogen energy industry and included hydrogen energy in the national “14th Five-Year Plan” and the 2035 Long-Range Objectives. In 2021, China’s Ministry of Finance and four other ministries and commissions have successively approved the first and second batches of FCEV demonstration urban agglomerations, aiming to effectively create a green energy community and drive the sustainable development of the entire hydrogen energy industry chain through the collaboration of the FCEV industry chain and the demonstration and promotion of cross-regional scenarios. From the perspective of FCEVs, this section sorts out the current national and local fuel cell industry policies, demonstration and promotion status, and vehicle operation, evaluates the promotion and application status of FCEV demonstration urban agglomerations, analyzes the current characteristics of local FCEV industry promotion, helps the demonstration urban agglomerations continuously improve the demonstration and application level, and explores replicable and scalable advanced experiences for large-scale promotion and application.

7.1 Development Status of FCEV Industry

7.1.1 Continuously Increasing Industrial Policies

• 1. National top-level design accelerates the transformation of clean energy, and the hydrogen energy industry is listed as a forward-looking industry

Hydrogen energy is an important development direction of the global energy technology revolution. Accelerating the development of the hydrogen energy industry is a strategic choice to address global climate change, ensure national energy supply security, and achieve sustainable development. As an important direction for China’s energy transformation, hydrogen energy will play an important role in synergy with other energy sources to achieve China’s goal of “Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality”.

According to the development of China’s FCEV industry, the overall FCEV industry is still in the policy-driven stage. In the series of policy documents on carbon peaking and carbon neutrality released at the national level, the hydrogen energy and the fuel cell industry have been gradually incorporated into the green and low-carbon transformation, achieving one of the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. On March 11, 2021, the 4th Session of the 2021 National People’s Congress adopted the Resolution of the 4th Session of the 2021 National People’s Congress on the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Outline of the 2035 Long-Range Objectives, which included hydrogen energy as a frontier technology and industrial transformation field in the document, “Organize the implementation of future industry incubation and acceleration plans in frontier technologies and industrial transformation fields including hydrogen energy and energy storage, and plan to lay out a batch of future industries”; the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and State Council on the Complete, Accurate and Comprehensive Implementation of the New Development Concept to Do a Good Job in Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”), was released on October 24, 2021, and pointed out that carbon peaking and carbon neutrality should be included in the overall economic and social development, led by the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, and green and low-carbon development as the key. Actively developing non-petrochemical energy and coordinating the full chain development of hydrogen energy production, storage, transportation, and utilization: on October 26, 2021, the Notice of the State Council on Issuing the Action Plan for Carbon Peak before 2030 (GF [2021] No. 23) (referred to as the “Notice”) was officially released. The Notice clearly stated that China would actively expand the application of new and clean energies such as hydrogen and natural gas in the transportation field, vigorously promote new energy vehicles, and gradually reduce the proportion of traditional fuel vehicles in the production, sales, and holdings of new vehicles, promote the electrified substitution of urban public service vehicles, and promote FCEVs and other electric heavy-duty freight vehicles.

A series of supporting policies for the development of the NEV industry have been issued at the national level, clearly accelerating the demonstration, promotion, and commercial application of FCEVs and comprehensively promoting the development of the whole chain of hydrogen energy “production, storage, transportation and use.” The industry has shown a clear acceleration signal. On November 2, 2020, the State Council issued the Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Issuing the Development Plan for the New Energy Vehicle Industry (2021–2035) (GBF [2020] No. 39), which established the medium and long-term development goals of the fuel cell industry. The policy stated that “after 15 years of sustained efforts, China’s core technology of new energy vehicles will reach the international advanced level, and the quality brands will have strong international competitiveness. The commercial application of FCEVs will be realized. The construction of hydrogen fuel supply systems will be steadily promoted”. Regarding industrial development goals, according to the “Technology Roadmap for Energy-Saving and New Energy Vehicles (2.0)”, by 2025, the number of FCEVs will reach about 100,000, and the number of hydrogen refueling stations will reach 1000; by 2035, the number of FCEVs will reach about 1 million, and the number of Hydrogen refueling stations will reach 5000.

In fuel cell technology innovation and standardization, the fuel cell common technologies, engineering applications, and key component technology innovation have been successively laid out around the entire hydrogen energy industry chain at the national level. On May 11, 2021, the Notice of the Ministry of Science and Technology on Issuing the 2021 Project Guidelines for the National Key R&D Program “Information Photonics Technology” and Other Key Special Projects of the 14th Five-Year Plan (GKFZ [2021] No. 133) was officially released. The 2021 project guidelines for key hydrogen energy technology projects point out that the overall goal of key projects is to be guided by major needs such as the energy revolution and a country with strong transportation network, systematically lay out the green production, safe and dense storage and transportation and efficient utilization technologies of the hydrogen energy, connect the links of foundation and foresight, common and key technology, engineering application and evaluation standard, and achieve China’s hydrogen energy technology research and development level entering the international advanced ranks by 2025. The 2021 guidelines revolve around four technical directions: green hydrogen production and large-scale transfer storage system, safe hydrogen storage and rapid transmission and distribution system, convenient hydrogen upgrading and efficient power system, and comprehensive demonstration of “hydrogen entering thousands of households.” Based on basic frontier technologies, common and key technologies, and demonstration applications, 18 projects will be launched, with a planned national allocation of 795 million yuan. On December 4, 2021, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China released the formula list of key proposed projects of the national key R&D program in 2021, including 35 hydrogen energy and fuel cell technologies in five categories of key projects, including hydrogen technology (17), new energy vehicle (2), catalytic science (12), high-end function and smart material (3), and frontier research on large-scale scientific facility (1), mostly covering common and key technologies in the entire industry chain of hydrogen energy and FCEV.

On June 28, 2021, the First Department of Equipment Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China released the “Key Points for Automotive Standardization in 2021”. Among them, in the field of FCEVs, the Key Points proposed to focus on the use of FCEVs, promote the standard formulation and revision for FCEV energy consumption and driving range, low-temperature cold start, power performance, on-board hydrogen system, and hydrogen refueling nozzle, etc., accelerate innovation and breakthroughs in key components, and carry out standard formulation and revision for power batteries, supercapacitors, drive motor systems, and insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules.

• 2. The pilot scope of demonstration urban agglomerations is gradually expanding, with a focus on supporting industrial chain technology breakthroughs and strengthening regional synergy and complementarity

Regarding accelerating the construction of the FCEV industry chain and the promotion and application of FCEVs, the national level is committed to fully mobilizing the comparative advantages of each city, giving play to the radiation and driving role of leading cities, focusing on cultivating distinctive industrial clusters, and rewarding the owners of FCEVs to replace fiscal and tax policies, and promote the coordinated development of the fuel cell industry within and between urban agglomerations, and strive to drive the complementary, interactive, mutually beneficial and win–win development of cities.

In August 2021, the Ministry of Finance and four other ministries and commissions issued the Notice of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the National Energy Administration on Starting the Demonstration and Application of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (CJ [2001] No. 266), marking the first batch of FCEV demonstration urban agglomerations including Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, Shanghai Urban Agglomeration led by Shanghai and Guangdong Urban Agglomeration led by Foshan City have officially landed, further clarifying the determination to accelerate the development of the FCEV industry (Table 7.1).

Table 7.1 List of the first batch of FCEV demonstration and application urban agglomerations in 2021

In August 2021, the Ministry of Finance and four other ministries and commissions issued the Notice of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the National Energy Administration on Starting A New Round of Demonstration and Application of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (CJ [2001] No. 437). It listed Hebei Urban Agglomeration, led by Zhangjiakou, and Henan Urban Agglomeration, led by Zhengzhou, as the second batch of FCEV demonstration urban agglomerations. The formal establishment of the five major demonstration urban agglomerations is expected to fully leverage each city’s resource endowment and technological industry advantages, committed to creating a leading model for the development of the hydrogen energy industry (Table 7.2).

Table 7.2 List of the second batch of FCEV demonstration and application urban agglomerations in 2021

• 3. Intensive introduction of policies for demonstration urban agglomerations, with a total number of vehicles in demonstration and application exceeding 33,000

As of the end of 2021, the national “3 + 2” FCEV demonstration urban agglomeration pattern has been formed, and industrial policies are gradually being implemented. The first batch of demonstration urban agglomerations, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, Shanghai Urban Agglomeration, and Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, have obvious advantages in the promotion and application of fuel cell key technologies and are the pioneer areas in the promotion and application of FCEVs in China strong economic strength. Hebei Urban Agglomeration and Henan Urban Agglomeration take the opportunity of vehicle demonstration and application and combine their advantages to continue forming local promotion characteristics, which are expected to drive the development of local industries. According to the 4-year demonstration period (2022–2025), the five major demonstration urban agglomerations are expected to promote 33,000 FCEVs of various types. With the continuous growth of vehicles in demonstration and application, various technological breakthroughs, large-scale product promotion, and hydrogen refueling infrastructure in the upstream and downstream of the fuel cell industry chain will also have good development opportunities.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration is committed to building an ecotope with independent technological innovation, closed-loop sustainable development of the entire industry chain, and regional integration and coordination.

Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei are geographically connected, with integrated industries, creating an inherent advantage of jointly conducting FCEV demonstrations. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, led by Daxing District, Beijing, was established in conjunction with six districts, including Haidian and Changping, and the Economic and Technological Development Zone in Beijing, as well as 12 cities (districts) including Tianjin Binhai New Area, Baoding and Tangshan in Hebei, Binzhou and Zibo in Shandong Province. On December 25, 2021, the construction of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei FCEV Demonstration Urban Agglomeration was officially launched. The demonstration of urban agglomeration will be led by Beijing’s technological innovation and commitment to building a green energy community. According to the Implementation Plan for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei FCEV Demonstration Urban Agglomeration, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Demonstration Urban Agglomeration has set a “1 + 4 + 5” goal task system, which aims to complete an overall goal of building an ecotope with independent technological innovation, closed-loop sustainable development of the entire industry chain, and regional integration and coordination; also achieve 4 sub-goals: 100% localization of key technologies, construction of high-quality industrial clusters, vehicle promotion and application, and creation of a friendly demonstration environment, with supporting key tasks covering 5 major fields; and establish the division of labor and positioning of “one core, two chains, and four districts” based on the location conditions and resource endowments of each city (Table 7.3).

Table 7.3 Positioning and division of labor in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei demonstration urban agglomeration

The Shanghai Urban Agglomeration is committed to building a fuel cell industry cluster with the largest industrial scale, the best ecological environment, and the strongest overall competitiveness in China.

The Shanghai Urban Agglomeration, led by Shanghai, is jointly established by six cities (districts), including Suzhou and Nantong in Jiangsu, Jiaxing in Zhejiang, Zibo in Shandong, Ningdong Energy and Chemical Base in Ningxia, and Ordos in Inner Mongolia. On November 11, 2021, the first joint meeting on the demonstration and application of FCEVs in Shanghai Urban Agglomeration was held, marking the official launch of the demonstration work in Shanghai Urban Agglomeration. The Shanghai Urban Agglomeration has strengthened organizational support and established a joint meeting system. The joint meeting will be held twice a year, and each city will establish a dedicated team for FCEV demonstration and application work.

Regarding financial support, on November 3, 2021, Shanghai issued Several Policies on Supporting the Development of the City’s Fuel Cell Vehicle Industry (“Several Policies”) (HFGZ [2021] No. 10), involving incentives for supporting the purchase of complete vehicles, incentives for key parts, incentives for vehicle operation, subsidies for supporting bus operations, subsidies for the construction of hydrogen refueling stations, and subsidies for hydrogen retail prices. The “Several Policies” clearly propose that by 2025, the municipal finance department of Shanghai will contribute following the 1:1 ratio of the national fuel cell vehicle demonstration central financial incentive fund, and give 200,000 yuan/point incentives in support of the vehicle product demonstration and application.

The Guangdong Urban Agglomeration is committed to creating a vehicle demonstration and application and technological innovation highland with a sound industry chain, advanced technologies, and leading scale.

On December 8, 2021, the Guangdong FCEV Demonstration and Application Urban Agglomeration was officially launched. The Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, led by Foshan City, jointly established by cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Yangjiang, Yunfu, Fuzhou, Zibo, Baotou, and Lu’an, aiming to build a technological innovation highland with global competitiveness for the FCEV industry by 2025 by taking the opportunity of FCEV demonstration and application. According to the Action Plan of Guangdong Province to Accelerate the Construction of Fuel Cell Vehicle Demonstration Urban Agglomeration (2021–2025) (the “Draft for Comments”) released by the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission in December 2021, by the end of the demonstration period, the Guangdong Demonstration Urban Agglomeration will realize the independent and controllable technology of eight key parts including cell stack, membrane electrode, bipolar plate, proton exchange membrane, catalyst, carbon paper, air compressor, and hydrogen circulation system, have products with independent intellectual property rights supporting applications, promote more than 10,000 FCEVs, form more than 460,000 tons of hydrogen supply system, build more than 200 hydrogen refueling stations, reduce the price of hydrogen to 35 yuan/kg below (30 yuan/kg below in the province), and build a sound FCEV policy system.

In the field of financial support, the “Draft for Comments” proposes to provide financial incentives to enterprises that have obtained the “Key Component R&D Industrialization” bonus points for Guangdong in the national demonstration urban agglomeration assessment, to be specifically, the provincial financial department will provide supporting funds in accordance with the 1:1 ratio of national reward and subsidy standard, and local financial department of demonstration cities in the province will provide supporting subsidies in accordance with the 1:1 ratio of national and provincial reward and subsidy standard; Regarding the subsidy standard for the construction of hydrogen refueling stations, the provincial financial department will subsidize hydrogen refueling stations that have been built and put into use during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period and have a daily hydrogen refueling capacity of 500 kg or more, and an energy supply station that integrates fuel, hydrogen, and gas will be provided with a subsidy of 2.5 million yuan per station; an independent fixed hydrogen refueling station will be provided with a subsidy of 2 million yuan per station; a skid-mounted hydrogen refueling station will be provided with a subsidy of 1.5 million yuan per station. The local financial department will provide supporting subsidies following the 1:1 ratio of provincial subsidy amount, with a total subsidy of no more than 5 million yuan at each financial level. If a hydrogen refueling station receiving the provincial financial subsidy stops the hydrogen refueling service within 5 years after the first subsidy is in place, it shall refund the subsidy issued.

The Hebei Urban Agglomeration fully leverages the advantages of “green hydrogen” and takes the Winter Olympics as an opportunity to actively explore multiple application scenarios for demonstration.

The Hebei FCEV Demonstration Urban Agglomeration (hereinafter referred to as “Hebei Urban Agglomeration”), led by Zhangjiakou, is composed of 13 cities, including Tangshan, Baoding, Handan, Qinhuangdao, Dingzhou, Xinji and Xiong’an New Area in Hebei, Wuhai in Inner Mongolia, Fengxian District in Shanghai, Zhengzhou in Henan, Zibo and Liaocheng in Shandong and Xiamen in Fujian. Hebei Urban Agglomeration plans to promote 7710 FCEVs of various types during the four-year demonstration period. Among them, Zhangjiakou, the leading city, will promote 1130 FCEVs of various types. Hebei Urban Agglomeration will give full play to hydrogen production from renewable energy to achieve the goal of producing “green hydrogen” with “green electricity” and achieve zero emission in the whole process of hydrogen energy utilization. During the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, all Winter Olympic support vehicles in the core area of Zhangjiakou were FVEV buses. In addition, Hebei Urban Agglomeration will actively enrich the promotion and application scenarios of FVEVs in cities within Hebei.

The Henan Urban Agglomeration drives the development of the fuel cell industry with advantageous enterprises to help the transformation and upgrading of local automobile and energy industries.

The Henan FCEV Demonstration Urban Agglomeration (hereinafter referred to as “Henan Urban Agglomeration”) takes Zhengzhou as the leading city and Yutong as the advantageous enterprise, unites with the most powerful integration enterprises of fuel cell system and cities in China, including five cities in Henan, namely Xinxiang, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Anyang, Jiaozuo, and three districts of Shanghai (Jiading, Lin-gang, Fengxian), and other 11 advantageous cities or districts in the industrial chain like Zhangjiakou, Weifang and Foshan. Regarding the working mechanism of demonstration operation, Henan Urban Agglomeration will establish and improve the overall coordination mechanism of demonstration and application, promote the leading cities to continuously improve the level of demonstration and application, and accelerate the formation of advanced experience that can be replicated and promoted in the development of FCEVs. It is expected that during the 4-year demonstration period, the total investment of various types of funds from provincial and municipal government departments, enterprises, and society in Henan will be approximately 28.5 billion yuan.

7.1.2 Significant Demonstration and Promotion Effects

The recommended catalog of FCEVs is mainly in the field of commercial vehicles, and the application scenarios are gradually expanded to multiple fields.

Hydrogen fuel cell technology is important for commercial vehicles to achieve carbon peaking. In recent years, China has actively promoted the application, demonstration, and supporting infrastructure construction of new technologies and new models in FCEV commercial vehicles. Local governments also actively introduced policies to follow up and fully support the promotion and application of FCEV commercial vehicles. From the 1st batch to the 12th batch of Recommended Models Catalogue for New Energy Vehicle Applications (Fig. 7.1) published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China in 2021, 47 FCEV enterprises and 239 product models were involved, including 1 passenger car, 25 buses, and 214 special vehicles. From the number of recommended models throughout the year, the recommended models of special vehicles are significantly higher than those of buses. With the gradual increase in the scale of demonstration and promotion of FCEVs, FCEVs are gradually expanding from the field of buses to multiple application scenarios of buses and special vehicles. Each demonstration urban agglomeration relies on diversified application scenarios to gradually explore effective commercial operation models.

Fig. 7.1

Source Batches 1–12 of recommended models catalogue for new energy vehicle applications in 2021

Number of FCEV models in the 1st to 12th batch recommended models catalog in 2021.

The demonstration and promotion of FCEVs have gradually increased, and the cumulative sales volume has exceeded 8900 by 2021.

Since 2016, the sales of FCEVs in China have shown a rapid growth trend. In 2019, the sales of FCEVs exceeded 2737 vehicles, with a YoY increase of 79.2%. Since 2020, the sales of FCEVs affected by COVID-19 has declined compared with 2019. Driven by the top-level goal of “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” and the effect of demonstration urban agglomerations, the development of the FCEV industry in various regions has significantly accelerated. By 2021, the cumulative sales volume has exceeded 8900 vehicles (Fig. 7.2). It is expected that by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, with the promotion of fuel cell multi-scenario application models and the gradual improvement of policy and regulatory environments, the scale of demonstration and promotion of FCEVs is expected to gradually achieve industrial development.

Fig. 7.2

Source China Association of Automobile Manufacturers

Sales growth of FCEVs in China over the years.

As of the end of 2021, more than 255 hydrogen refueling infrastructures have been built in China.

The large-scale demonstration and promotion of FCEVs have led to remarkable achievements in constructing hydrogen refueling infrastructure. By December 31, 2021, 255 hydrogen refueling stations have been built, and 180 hydrogen refueling stations have been put into operation in China (Fig. 7.3). Regarding the construction of new hydrogen refueling stations, the new hydrogen refueling stations in 2021 mainly were energy service stations integrating hydrogen, fuel, electricity, and gas; Regarding the construction layout of domestic hydrogen refueling stations, the construction layout of China’s hydrogen refueling stations is regional, mainly distributed in Beijing-Hebei region, Shandong Peninsula region, Yangtze River Delta region, Pearl River Delta region, and other economic development regions.

Fig. 7.3

Source China Society of Automotive Engineers (China SAE). International Hydrogen Fuel Cell Association (Preparatory), China Hydrogen Industry Technology Innovation and Application Alliance

Construction and operation of hydrogen refueling stations in China.

7.2 Operation Characteristics of FCEVs in China

The National Monitoring and Management Platform can monitor the access and operation of FCEVs in real-time across the country. This section summarizes and analyzes the operation characteristics of FCEVs across the country by selecting data on the access, online rate, travel characteristics, and hydrogen refueling characteristics of FCEVs from the National Monitoring and Management Platform in 2021 to provide experience for the commercialized promotion of FCEVs.

7.2.1 Access Characteristics

• 1. Overall access

The cumulative access volume of FCEVs has exceeded 7737 vehicles, which are mainly operating vehicles.

By December 31, 2021, a total 7737 FCEVs have been accessed to the National Monitoring and Management Platform, including 4071 buses, accounting for 52.63% of the total access; special vehicles include logistics special vehicles, engineering special vehicles, and environmental sanitation special vehicles, with 3663 vehicles accessed, accounting for 47.34% of the total access; 3 passenger cars accessed, accounting for 0.04% of the total access, as shown in Fig. 7.4.

Fig. 7.4

Cumulative access and proportion of FCEVs in China

• 2. Concentration of vehicle access in various provinces

The regional distribution of FCEVs concentrated at the demonstration urban agglomerations, and the promotion proportion of the TOP3 provinces reached 62.5%.

As of December 31, 2021, the TOP10 provinces had cumulative access volume of 7289 FCEVs, accounting for 94.2% of the total access in China (Fig. 7.5). According to the promotion of FCEVs in various provinces, the promotion areas of FCEVs are mainly concentrated in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, Shanghai Urban Agglomeration, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration. Guangdong, Shanghai, and Beijing have a cumulative access volume of 4832 FCEVs, accounting for 62.5% of the total access in China. Among them, Guangdong ranks first, with 2536 FCEVs accessed, accounting for 32.8% of total access in China.

Fig. 7.5

Access and proportion of FCEVs in the TOP10 provinces in 2021

The regional concentration of the promotion and application of FCEVs generally shows a downward trend. According to the change of regional concentration of FCEV promotion and application in provinces over the years (Fig. 7.6), in 2021, the promotion of FCEVs in the TOP3 provinces accounted for 62.5% in China, with a decrease of 6.8% compared with 2020; the promotion proportion of FCEVs in the TOP5 provinces and TOP10 provinces decreased by 3.8% and 1.5% respectively on a YoY basis. With the heating up of the domestic hydrogen energy and fuel cell industry and the continuous maturity of fuel cell technology, multiple provinces in China have released development plans for the hydrogen energy and fuel cell industry to accelerate the promotion and application of vehicles and drive the accelerated development of the hydrogen energy industry chain.

Fig. 7.6

Changes in the regional concentration of FCEVs over the years

A total of 4071 FCEV buses have been accessed nationwide, and the promotion proportion in the TOP10 provinces reaches 95.0%.

In the field of FCEV buses, as of December 31, 2021, 4071 FCEV buses have been accessed, accounting for 52.6% of the access volume of FCEVs on the National Monitoring and Management Platform (Fig. 7.7). The TOP10 provinces have a cumulative access volume of 3765 FCEV buses, accounting for 92.5% of the total access volume of FCEV buses in China. Guangdong has the maximum access volume of FCEV buses from the distribution by province. As of December 31, 2021, the access volume of FCEV buses in Guangdong was 1049, accounting for 25.8% of the access volume of FCEV buses in China, followed by Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, Shanghai, and Henan, all with access characteristic of more than 300 FCEV buses.

Fig. 7.7

Cumulative access and proportion of FCEV buses in the TOP10 provinces and cities

A total of 3663 FCEV special vehicles have been accessed nationwide, and the promotion proportion in the TOP10 provinces reaches 98.9%.

In the field of FCEV special vehicles, as of December 31, 2021, 3663 FCEV special vehicles have been accessed, accounting for 47.3% of the access volume of FCEVs on the National Monitoring and Management Platform (Fig. 7.8). The TOP10 provinces have a cumulative access volume of 3624 FCEV special vehicles, accounting for 98.9% of the total access volume of FCEV special vehicles in China. Among them, the TOP2 provinces are Guangdong Province and Shanghai City, with an access volume of 1487 and 1096 FCEV special vehicles, accounting for 40.6% and 29.9% of the access volume of FCEV special vehicles in China, showing a remarkable promotion effect.

Fig. 7.8

Cumulative access and proportion of FCEV special vehicles in the TOP10 provinces

• 3. Concentration of vehicle access in various cities

Totally 6158 FCEVs have been accessed in the TOP10 cities in China, and the proportion of national promotion has reached 79.64%.

The promotion of FCEVs in cities is shown in Fig. 7.9. As of December 31, 2021, 6158 FCEVs have been accessed in the TOP10 cities, accounting for 79.6% of the national promotion. Among them, the promotion scale of FCEVs in Shanghai and Foshan ranked the top two in China, with cumulative access volumes of 1484 and 1470 FCEVs, accounting for 19.2% and 19.0%, respectively, in China.

Fig. 7.9

Cumulative access and proportion of FCEVs in the TOP10 cities

According to the annual vehicle promotion structure of the TOP10 cities (Fig. 7.10), in Foshan, Beijing, Zhangjiakou, and Zhengzhou, FCEV buses are the main type of vehicles promoted; in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Qingdao, and Wuhan, FCEV special vehicles are the main type of vehicles promoted.

Fig. 7.10

Cumulative access structure of FCEVs in the TOP10 cities

• 4. Market Concentration of FCEVs

The FCEVs have a high market concentration. Top10 enterprises have an access volume of 6501 FCEVs in total, accounting for 84.0%.

At present, the industry has a large number of enterprises participating in the promotion of FCEVs. By 2021, FCEVs from 42 enterprises have been accessed to the National Monitoring and Management Platform. Regarding the industry market concentration, FECV production is dominated by traditional bus enterprises. As of December 31, 2021, 6501 FECVs have been accessed in the TOP10 FECV enterprises nationwide, accounting for 84.0% of the access volume of FECVs nationwide (Fig. 7.11). Among them, Zhongtong Bus had a cumulative access volume of 1620 FCEVs, accounting for 20.9% nationwide; Shanghai Shenlong, Foshan Feichi, BAIC Foton, and Dongfeng Motor had a cumulative access volume of more than 500 FCEVs, that is 933, 906, 693 and 620 FCEVs, accounting for 12.1%, 11.7%, 9.0%, and 8.0% respectively. Benefiting from the 2022 Winter Olympics, the access volume of BAIC Foton FCEVs in 2021 nearly tripled on a YoY basis, reaching 190.0%.

Fig. 7.11

Cumulative access and proportion of FCEVs in the TOP10 enterprises

According to the promotion and application scenarios of FCEVs of the TOP10 enterprises (Fig. 7.12), Foshan Feichi, BAIC Foton, Zhengzhou Yutong Bus, Xiamen Golden Dragon, and Yunnan Wulong mainly promote and apply FCEVs in the field of buses; Zhongtong Bus, Sunlong Bus, and Dongfeng Motor mainly promote and apply FCEVs in the field of special vehicles. Besides, in 2021, Foshan Feichi and Nanjing Golden Dragon accelerated the product layout in the field of FCEV engineering special vehicles. They successively launched announcements on FCEV trucks, truck chassis, and other models, with the focus on promoting the demonstration and application in the field of medium-and-long distance and medium-and-heavy commercial vehicles.

Fig. 7.12

Cumulative access volume of FCEVs of the TOP10 enterprises in different application scenarios

Top10 enterprises have a cumulative access volume of 3322 FCEV buses in total, accounting for 81.6% of promotion.

In the field of FCEV buses, the TOP10 enterprises have a cumulative access volume of 3322 vehicles, accounting for 81.6% of the FCEV buses on the National Monitoring and Management Platform (Fig. 7.13). Among them, Foshan Feichi has a cumulative access volume of 645 FCEV buses, accounting for 15.8% of the access volume of FCEV buses. BAIC Foton, Maxus, Yutong Bus, Xiamen Golden Dragon, and Zhongtong Bus have a cumulative access volume of more than 200 FCEV buses.

Fig. 7.13

Cumulative access and proportion of FCEV buses in the TOP10 enterprises

Top10 enterprises have a cumulative access volume of 3605 FCEV special vehicles in total, accounting for 98.4% of promotion.

In the field of FCEV special vehicles, the TOP5 enterprises have a cumulative access volume of 3605 vehicles, accounting for 98.4% of the access volume of FCEV special vehicles (Fig. 7.14). Among them, Zhongtong Bus has an access volume of 1343 FCEV special vehicles, accounting for 36.7%. The enterprises of FCEV special vehicles have a relatively high promotion concentration.

Fig. 7.14

Cumulative access and proportion of FCEV special vehicles in the TOP10 enterprises

7.2.2 Online Rate Characteristics

The average monthly online rate of FCEVs over the years has gradually stabilized, and the average monthly online rate in the past two years has been more than 70%.

As shown in Fig. 7.15, since 2018, the annual average monthly online rate of FCEVs has shown a trend of first rising and then stabilizing. In 2020, the average monthly online rate of FCEVs grew faster than that in 2018 and 2019, and the utilization rate of vehicles was significantly improved. In 2021, the average monthly online rate of FCEVs was 71.3%, mainly accompanied by the acceleration of the FCEV demonstration and promotion process and the further expansion of the vehicle promotion scale in China. The annual average monthly online rate of FCEVs gradually stabilizes.

Fig. 7.15

Average monthly online rate of FCEVs over the years

According to the curve of the monthly online rate of FCEVs (Fig. 7.16), the monthly online rate of FCEVs in 2021 showed a relatively stable trend, and the online rate in each month fluctuated around 70%.

Fig. 7.16

Monthly online rate of FCEVs over the years

In 2021, the monthly average daily online vehicles generally maintained an upward trend, and the number of online vehicles increased rapidly in the fourth quarter. Regarding the monthly average daily online FCEVs nationwide in 2021 (Fig. 7.17), except that the number of online vehicles in February 2021 was 1967, the number of online vehicles in other months remained above 2000. The number of online vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2021 steadily increased, reaching the highest average daily number of online vehicles in each month of the year in December, with 2790 vehicles.

Fig. 7.17

Number of monthly average daily online FCEVs in 2021

The online rate of FCEV buses is higher than that of FCEV special vehicles.

Regarding application scenarios, the FCEV buses have a good operation effect. According to the monthly average online rate by vehicle type over the years (Fig. 7.18), the online rate of FCEV buses has remained above 80% in the past three years, with a high online rate and good operation effect; the average monthly online rate of FCEV special vehicles reached 69% in 2020, and that declined in 2021. The fuel cell industry needs to further summarize experience through pilot demonstration in core equipment and key parts development and hydrogen refueling infrastructure construction to promote the rapid development of hydrogen and fuel cell industries.

Fig. 7.18

Average monthly online rate of FCEV buses and special vehicles over the years

7.2.3 Operation Characteristics

• 1. Cumulative mileage and travel duration

As of December 31, 2021, the cumulative mileage of FCEVs in China was nearly 200 million km, and the travel duration exceeded 7.42 million h.

As of December 31, 2021, the cumulative mileage of FCEVs was 194.417 million km (Fig. 7.19), and the cumulative travel duration was up to 7.42 million h (Fig. 7.20). In 2021, FCEVs traveled 110,096,000 km and 4,482,000 h, accounting for 56.6% and 60.4% of the cumulative mileage and travel duration of fuel cell electric vehicles, respectively.

Fig. 7.19

Distribution of cumulative mileage of FCEVs in different application scenarios (10,000 km, %)

Fig. 7.20

Distribution of cumulative travel duration of FCEVs in different application scenarios

Regarding application scenarios, FCEV buses and logistics special vehicles dominate. FCEV buses have traveled 119.543 million km cumulatively, with a travel duration of 5.188 million h; FCEV logistics special vehicles have traveled 62.212 million km cumulatively, with a travel duration of 1.742 million h.

The promotion scale of fuel cell electric vehicles in Guangdong ranks first in China, with good vehicle operation effect.

According to the ranking of cumulative mileage and cumulative travel duration of fuel cell electric vehicles in all provinces of China (Fig. 7.21), by the end of 2021, the cumulative mileage of FCEVs in the TOP10 provinces was 187.219 million km, and the cumulative travel duration was 7.169 million h, accounting for 96.3% and 96.6% of the total cumulative mileage and cumulative travel duration of FCEVs in China, respectively. Among them, the operation effect of Guangdong ranks first. By the end of 2021, the cumulative mileage of FCEVs in Guangdong was 76.069 million km, and the cumulative travel duration was 2.584 million h, followed by Shanghai, Henan, Hebei, Shandong, and Beijing. The demonstration operation of FCEVs has achieved good results.

Fig. 7.21

Cumulative mileage and travel duration of FCEVs in the TOP10 provinces

• 2. Characteristics of Daily Mileage and Travel Duration of a Single Vehicle

In 2021, the daily mileage of a single vehicle for FCEVs was concentrated at 120 ~ 240 km, and the “migration” trend of vehicles to high mileage was significant.

As the distribution shows, in 2019 and 2020, the daily mileage of a single vehicle for FCEVs was mainly 0 ~ 40 km (Fig. 7.22). In 2021, the proportion of FCEVs with a daily mileage of a single vehicle in the high mileage section increased significantly. The proportion of FCEVs with a single-vehicle mileage of 120 ~ 240 km was 56.2%, significantly higher than that in the last two years. With the continuous strengthening of policy support for the hydrogen and fuel cell industries, the technical performance of onboard devices and the layout of hydrogen refueling infrastructure are gradually optimized, and the operational effectiveness of vehicles is significantly improved.

Fig. 7.22

Distribution of daily mileage of a single vehicle for FCEVs

The mileage of FCEV buses is concentrated within 120–240 km; the distribution of special vehicles in each mileage segment is relatively balanced, with a high proportion of vehicles in high mileage segments.

Regarding application scenarios, in 2021, the daily mileage of a single vehicle for FCEV buses was mainly less than 120 ~ 240 km, with vehicles accounting for 62.6% (Fig. 7.23). The distribution of daily mileage of a single vehicle for FCEV special vehicles is relatively uniform. Compared with FCEV buses, the share of FCEV special vehicles in high mileage segments above 200 km is significantly higher, accounting for 44.2%. Among them, the proportion of vehicles with a daily mileage of over 480 km is 9.9%, indicating that the role of FCEV special vehicles in trans-city transportation is gradually emerging.

Fig. 7.23

Distribution of daily mileage of a single vehicle for FCEV buses and special vehicles in 2021

The distribution of daily travel duration of a single vehicle for FCEVs gradually transits to long duration segments, with their use intensity gradually increased.

The daily travel durations of a single vehicle for FCEVs are distributed dispersedly in all duration segments. Compared to 2019 and 2020, the distribution proportion of FCEVs in long travel duration segments gradually increased in 2021 (Fig. 7.24). The proportion of FCEVs with a daily travel duration of more than 6 h accounted for 61.34%, and the proportion of vehicles with a daily travel duration of more than 10 h accounted for 18.5%, indicating that the use intensity of vehicles gradually increased.

Fig. 7.24

Distribution of daily travel duration of a single vehicle for FCEVs in 2018–2021

The proportion of FCEV buses in long travel duration segments is generally higher than that of FCEV special vehicles.

Generally, the proportion of FCEV buses in long travel duration segments is higher than that of FCEV special vehicles (Fig. 7.25). Regarding the application scenarios, the daily travel duration of a single vehicle for FCEV buses is mainly more than 5 h, and the proportion of vehicles reaches 72.6% (higher than 62.1% of special vehicles), mainly for urban transport; the daily travel duration of a single vehicle for FCEV special vehicles has been differentiated to a certain extent. On the one hand, FCEV special vehicles with a travel duration of less than 2 h account for a large proportion, mainly for short-distance logistics distribution in the city; some FCEV special vehicles with a travel duration of more than 10 h account for 19.0%, and they transport across cities.

Fig. 7.25

Distribution of daily travel duration of a single vehicle for FCEV buses and special vehicles in 2021

• 3. Characteristics of Mileage and Travel Duration for Vehicle Enterprises

In the field of buses, there is a positive correlation between the average daily mileage and the average daily travel duration of vehicles.

Compared with the average daily mileage and travel duration of all bus enterprises, there is a significant positive correlation between the mileage and travel duration of different bus enterprises (Fig. 7.26). Among them, Ankai Automobile has the highest average daily mileage, reaching 233.0 km, and an average daily travel duration of 6.9 h. In addition, the average daily mileage of Asiastar Bus and FAW Bus (Dalian) is 201.7 km and 197.0 km, respectively, and the average daily travel duration is 6.4 h and 5.2 h, respectively, with good operation effect.

Fig. 7.26

Distribution of average daily mileage and travel duration of FCEVs of typical bus enterprises in 2021

There are significant operation differences in the field of special vehicles, with typical enterprises achieving outstanding operation results.

The average daily mileage and daily travel duration of typical FCEV enterprises are longer. According to the travel characteristics of vehicles of typical enterprises (Fig. 7.27), Foshan Feichi has the longest average daily mileage of 290.6 km and an average daily travel duration of 8.5 h. In addition, the daily mileage of Foshan Feichi and Zhongtong Bus is longer, 266.9 km and 254.1 km, respectively, with the daily travel duration of 6.0 h and 7.5 h.

Fig. 7.27

Distribution of average daily mileage and travel duration of FCEVs of typical special vehicle enterprises in 2021

7.3 Operation Characteristics of FCEVs in Demonstration Urban Agglomerations

China is accelerating the launch of FCEV application and promotion project driven by the “demonstration urban agglomerations.” The FCEV demonstration urban agglomerations, led by typical cities, will give full play to the characteristics of the industries and application scenarios of each demonstration urban agglomeration to drive the rapid iterative development of hydrogen energy and product technologies of fuel cell industry chain, promote the commercialization of products, and accelerate the formation of industrial competitiveness. This section selects Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, Shanghai Urban Agglomeration, Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, Hebei Urban Agglomeration, and Henan Urban Agglomeration as the research objects. It compares and evaluates the promotion, application, operation characteristics and hydrogen refueling characteristics of FCEVs in five demonstration urban agglomerations.

7.3.1 Promotion and Application Characteristics

The data in this study adopts the real-time operation data of FCEVs on the National Monitoring and Management Platform. The specific statistical scope of FCEVs in each demonstration urban agglomeration is as follows: for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, the demonstration and application of FCEVs in Beijing were mainly counted; for Shanghai Urban Agglomeration, the demonstration, and application of FCEVs represented by Shanghai were mainly counted; for Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, the demonstration, and application of FCEVs represented by Guangdong were mainly counted; for Hebei Urban Agglomeration, the demonstration, and application of FCEVs represented by Hebei were mainly counted; for Henan Urban Agglomeration, the demonstration, and application of FCEVs represented by Henan were mainly counted.

From the comparison of the cumulative access characteristics of each demonstration urban agglomeration (Fig. 7.28), as of December 31, 2021, the five demonstration urban agglomerations had a cumulative access volume of 5629 FCEVs, accounting for 72.8% of the cumulative access volume of FCEVs in China. Among them, the cumulative access volume of FCEVs in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration was the highest, reaching 2536 vehicles, including 1049 buses and 1487 special vehicles, followed by Shanghai Urban Agglomeration, with a cumulative access volume of 1470 FCEVs, including 371 buses and 1096 special vehicles, and 3 passenger cars; the cumulative access volume of FCEVs in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration reached 829 vehicles, including 659 buses and 170 special vehicles; the cumulative access volume of FCEVs in Hebei Urban Agglomeration and Henan Urban Agglomeration was 479 and 318 vehicles respectively, mainly buses.

Fig. 7.28

Cumulative access volume of FCEVs in each demonstration urban agglomeration-by type

Regarding the cumulative access characteristics of different types of vehicles in various demonstration urban agglomerations, the cumulative access volume of FCEV special vehicles in the Guangdong and Shanghai Urban Agglomerations is higher than that of buses; the cumulative access volume of FCEV buses in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Hebei, and Henan Urban Agglomerations is significantly higher than that of special vehicles.

Regarding vehicle promotion and application in different fields, the cumulative access characteristics of FCEV buses in the demonstration urban agglomerations (TOP5) are shown in Table 7.4. As of December 31, 2021, the TOP5 enterprises in the FCEV bus demonstration application scale in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration include BAIC Foton, Sunlong Bus, SFTM, Zhongzhi New Energy Vehicle (Chun’an) and Yutong Bus, with a cumulative access volume of 659 FCEV buses. A total of 4 enterprises, Maxus, Wanxiang Auto, SUNWIN Bus, and Sunlong Bus, have vehicles accessed and operated in the demonstration and application of FCEV buses in Shanghai Urban Agglomeration. Among them, Maxus has 347 buses accessed in total, ranking first, accounting for 93.5% of the promotion of FCEV buses in Shanghai Urban Agglomeration. Many enterprises are promoting and applying FCEV buses in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, and the cumulative access volume of the TOP5 enterprises has reached 1036 vehicles, accounting for 98.8% of the cumulative FCEVs in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration. The number of FCEV buses promoted and applied by Foshan Feichi is the highest, i.e., 589, accounting for 56.1% of the promotion of FCEV buses in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration. Thanks to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, the promotion scale of vehicles in Hebei Urban Agglomeration has proliferated, including 209 vehicles of BAIC Foton, accounting for 47.1% of the promotion scale of Hebei Urban Agglomeration. The main promotion enterprises in Henan Urban Agglomeration are Zhengzhou Yutong Bus and Jinhua Youngman, with an access volume of 224 and 94 vehicles, respectively.

Table 7.4 Cumulative access volume of FCEVs in the TOP5 enterprises in each demonstration urban agglomeration-bus field

In special vehicles, the cumulative access characteristics of vehicle enterprises in the demonstration urban agglomerations (TOP5) are shown in Table 7.5. As of December 31, 2021, a total of three enterprises in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, namely Sunlong Bus, BAIC Foton, and Foshan Feichi, have vehicles accessed and operated in the demonstration and application of FCEV special vehicles, with a total access volume of 170 FCEV special vehicles, accounting for 100% of the access volume of FCEV special vehicles in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration. A total of 4 enterprises in Shanghai Urban Agglomeration, namely Sunlong Bus, Dongfeng Motor, King Long United Automotive Industry (Suzhou), and JMC Heavy Duty Vehicle, have vehicles accessed and operated in the demonstration and application of FCEV special vehicles. Among them, Sunlong Bus has 509 buses accessed in total, ranking first, accounting for 46.4% of the promotion of FCEV special vehicles in Shanghai Urban Agglomeration. Many enterprises are promoting and applying FCEV special vehicles in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, and the cumulative access volume of the TOP5 enterprises has reached 1459 vehicles, accounting for 98.1% of the cumulative access volume of FCEVs in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration. The special vehicle enterprises in Hebei Urban Agglomeration are mainly Foshan Feichi and Nanjing Golden Dragon, with an access volume of 20 and 15 vehicles, respectively.

Table 7.5 Cumulative access characteristics of FCEVs in the TOP5 enterprises in each demonstration urban agglomeration-special vehicle field

7.3.2 Operation Characteristics

• 1. FCEV Online Rate

The average monthly online rate of FCEV buses in each demonstration urban agglomeration (Table 7.6) shows that the monthly online rates of FCEV buses in Henan Urban Agglomeration and Guangdong Urban Agglomeration were 93.9% and 91.9%, respectively, with an average exceeding 90%; The average monthly online rate of FCEV buses in Shanghai Urban Agglomeration was low, i.e., 61.4%.

Table 7.6 Average monthly online rate of FCEV buses in each demonstration urban agglomeration in 2021

The change in the monthly online rate of FCEV buses (Fig. 7.29) shows that the average monthly online rates of FCEV buses in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, Hebei Urban Agglomeration, and Henan Urban Agglomeration were distributed steadily, and the number of online vehicles in Shanghai Urban Agglomeration in September and October was relatively low, which has reduced the overall online rate throughout the year.

Fig. 7.29

Monthly online rate of FCEV buses in each demonstration urban agglomeration in 2021

The average monthly online rate of FCEV special vehicles in each demonstration urban agglomeration (Table 7.7) shows that the overall average online rate of specialized vehicles was slightly lower than that of buses. From the perspective of specific demonstration urban agglomerations, since new FCEVs were introduced in Hebei in 2021, the vehicle operation effect was good, and the average monthly online rate of FCEVs was 93.7%. The average monthly online rates of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, Shanghai Urban Agglomeration, and Guangdong Urban Agglomeration were 67.6%, 60.0%, and 59.1%, respectively (Fig. 7.30).

Table 7.7 Average monthly online rate of FCEV special vehicles in each demonstration urban agglomeration in 2021

Fig. 7.30

Monthly online rate of FCEV special vehicles in each demonstration urban agglomeration in 2021

• 2. Cumulative mileage and cumulative travel duration

As of December 31, 2021, the cumulative mileage of FCEVs in each demonstration urban agglomeration totaled 142.602 million km, of which the cumulative mileage of FCEVs in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration was the maximum, i.e., 76.069 million km; The cumulative mileage of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration and Shanghai Urban Agglomeration was 10.912 million km and 21.785 million km respectively (Fig. 7.31).

Fig. 7.31

Cumulative mileage of FCEVs in each demonstration urban agglomeration

From the cumulative mileage of classified vehicles in different demonstration urban agglomerations, it can be seen that due to differences in vehicle promotion structures and online rates, there were significant differences in the cumulative mileage of classified vehicles in different demonstration urban agglomerations, among which, the cumulative mileage of FCEV buses in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, Hebei Urban Agglomeration, and Henan Urban Agglomeration was higher than that of special vehicles. In comparison, the cumulative mileage of specialized vehicles in Shanghai Urban Agglomeration was higher than that of buses.

As of December 31, 2021, the cumulative travel duration of FCEVs in each demonstration urban agglomeration totaled 5.333 million h, of which the cumulative travel duration of FCEVs in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration was the maximum, i.e., 2.584 million h, and the cumulative travel durations of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration and Shanghai Urban Agglomeration were 356,000 h and 744,000 h respectively (Fig. 7.32).

Fig. 7.32

Cumulative travel duration of FCEVs in each demonstration urban agglomeration

From the cumulative travel duration of classified vehicles in different demonstration urban agglomerations, the cumulative travel duration of FCEV buses in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, Hebei Urban Agglomeration, and Henan Urban Agglomeration was higher than that of special vehicles. In comparison, the cumulative travel duration of FCEV specialized vehicles in Shanghai Urban Agglomeration was higher than that of buses.

• 3. Daily mileage and travel duration

• Daily mileage and travel duration

The average daily single-trip mileage and average daily single-trip travel duration of FCEV buses in different urban agglomerations in 2021 are shown in Table 7.8. The operating efficiency of FCEV buses in Shanghai demonstration urban agglomeration was the maximum, and the average daily mileage of FCEV buses in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration was the maximum, i.e., 184.2 km; The FCEV special vehicles (Table 7.9) in Guangdong demonstration urban agglomeration have the maximum operating efficiency and the maximum average daily mileage of 277.8 km.

Table 7.8 Comparison of the daily operation of FCEV buses and EV buses in demonstration cities

Table 7.9 Comparison of the daily operation of FCEV special vehicles and EV special vehicles in demonstration cities

The average daily single-trip mileage of FCEV special vehicles in each demonstration urban agglomeration was higher than that of EV special vehicles, and FCEV special vehicles have obvious advantages of long mileage.

• Daily mileage distribution

The distribution of daily single-trip mileage of vehicles in each demonstration urban agglomeration in 2021 is shown in Fig. 7.33. The daily mileage of FCEV buses in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration and Shanghai Urban Agglomeration was within 120 km; The average daily mileage of Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, Hebei Urban Agglomeration, and Henan Urban Agglomeration was high, of which the daily mileage of FCEV buses in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration was 160 ~ 280 km, while that in Hebei Urban Agglomeration was 120 ~ 200 km.

Fig. 7.33

Distribution of daily mileage of FCEV buses in each demonstration urban agglomeration in 2021

The distribution of the daily mileage of FCEV special vehicles in each demonstration urban agglomeration in 2021 is shown in Fig. 7.34. The daily mileage of FCEV special vehicles in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration was short; The daily mileage of FCEV special vehicles in Hebei Urban Agglomeration was 80 ~ 200 km, accounting for 66.6%. Compared with Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, the daily mileage of vehicles in Hebei Urban Agglomeration shows a trend of high mileage; The distribution of vehicles with a mileage range of over 400 km in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration was relatively high, accounting for 28.8%.

Fig. 7.34

Distribution of daily mileage of FCEV special vehicles in each demonstration urban agglomeration in 2021

• Daily travel duration distribution

The distribution of daily single-trip travel duration of FCEV buses in each demonstration urban agglomeration is shown in Fig. 7.35. The distribution of daily travel duration of FCEV buses in Shanghai Urban Agglomeration was 0–2 h, accounting for 56.9%; The operation effect of FCEV buses in Henan Urban Agglomeration was good, but the travel duration was more than 10 h, accounting for 42.6%.

Fig. 7.35

Distribution of daily travel duration of FCEV buses in each demonstration urban agglomeration in 2021

The distribution of daily single-trip travel duration of FCEV special vehicles in each demonstration urban agglomeration is shown in Fig. 7.36. The distribution of daily single-trip travel duration of FCEV special vehicles in Hebei Urban Agglomeration was concentrated in the high travel duration segment, accounting for 46.9%; The distribution of vehicles with different daily single-trip travel durations in other demonstration urban agglomerations was relatively uniform.

Fig. 7.36

Distribution of daily travel duration of FCEV special vehicles in each demonstration urban agglomeration in 2021

• 3. Average mileage between two hydrogen refueling cycles

The average mileage between two energy supplement cycles of FCEV buses and special vehicles in the demonstration urban agglomerations in 2021 is shown in Figs. 7.37 and 7.38. The mileage between two hydrogen refueling cycles of FCEVs in each demonstration urban agglomeration was significantly higher than that of EVs. The mileage between two hydrogen refueling cycles of FCEV buses in Henan Urban Agglomeration was the maximum, i.e., 423.1 km, while the mileage between two hydrogen refueling cycles of FCEV buses in other demonstration urban agglomerations exceeded 220 km. The mileage between two hydrogen refueling cycles of FCEV special vehicles in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration and Guangdong Urban Agglomeration exceeded 260 km. The mileages between two hydrogen refueling cycles of FCEV special vehicles in Shanghai Urban Agglomeration and Hebei Urban Agglomeration were 194.6 and 171.3 km, significantly higher than the mileage between two hydrogen refueling cycles of EVs in the same demonstration urban agglomeration.

Fig. 7.37

Mileage between two energy supplement cycles of FCEV buses in demonstration urban agglomerations in 2021

Fig. 7.38

Mileage between two energy supplement cycles of FCEV special vehicles in demonstration urban agglomerations in 2021

7.3.3 Hydrogen Refueling Characteristics

• 1. Daily single-trip hydrogen refueling frequency distribution

In 2021, the FCEV buses in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, Hebei Urban Agglomeration, and Henan Urban Agglomeration with their daily hydrogen refueling times ≤ 1 accounted for more than 50%, of which those with their daily hydrogen refueling times ≤ 1 accounted for 85.6%; The proportion of FCEV buses in Shanghai Urban Agglomeration and Guangdong Urban Agglomeration with their daily hydrogen refueling times > 1 was significantly higher than that of FCEV buses in other demonstration urban agglomerations due to the following factors. On the one hand, due to the high cost of the on-board hydrogen storage system, or the poor hydrogen storage density and heavy-weight hydrogen cylinder, the single-trip hydrogen capacity is limited; On the other hand, the number of hydrogen charging stations under construction and operation is relatively small, and some vehicles, such as those in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, have a long daily mileage. In order to alleviate mileage anxiety, hydrogen should be charged for vehicles (Fig. 7.39).

Fig. 7.39

Single-trip hydrogen refueling frequency distribution of FCEV buses in each demonstration urban agglomeration in 2021

Figure 7.40 shows that the proportion of FCEV special vehicles in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration with daily hydrogen refueling times more than 1 was relatively high, up to 71.9%, and FCEV special vehicles in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration had relatively high daily mileage and hydrogen was charged for such vehicles intermittently; the proportion of FCEV special vehicles in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration with their daily hydrogen refueling times ≤ 1 was relatively high, up to 51.6%.

Fig. 7.40

Single-trip hydrogen refueling frequency distribution of FCEV special vehicles in each demonstration urban agglomeration in 2021

• 2. Average hydrogen charging duration

The average hydrogen charging duration of all types of FCEVs in each demonstration urban agglomeration in 2021 is shown in Fig. 7.41. The average hydrogen charging duration of FCEV buses in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration is 8.2 min which is lower than that of special vehicles; The average hydrogen charging duration of FCEV special vehicles in Shanghai Urban Agglomeration, Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, and Hebei Urban Agglomeration is lower than that of FCEV buses.

Fig. 7.41

Average hydrogen charging duration of FCEVs in each demonstration urban agglomeration in 2021

7.4 Summary

An ideal choice for large-scale and deep decarbonization in the transportation field is FCEVs because they are expected to drive upstream and downstream industrial resources and an important strategic industry to realize regional interconnected development. As the national and local governments continuously increase support and guidance for the hydrogen energy and fuel cell industry, the demonstration, promotion, and application of the hydrogen fuel cell industry in various regions have achieved remarkable results. In combination with the access and operation characteristics of FCEVs on the national regulatory platform, the following conclusions were drawn in this paper.

The FCEV industry has achieved remarkable promotion results throughout the country, and the vehicle promotion scale and application scenarios reached a new level in 2021. From the perspective of the promotion scale of FCEVs nationwide, the cumulative number of FCEVs promoted exceeded 8900, with a sales growth of 34.8% compared with 2020; Regarding FCEV promotion application scenarios, FCEVs are gradually expanding from a single scenario to a diversified application scenario. As of December 31, 2020, the access volume of FCEVs to the National Monitoring and Management Platform has exceeded 7737, of which, special vehicles have been accessed from a single scenario of logistics vehicles in 2020 to multiple application scenarios such as special logistics vehicles, special engineering vehicles, and special environmental sanitation vehicles, with diversified application scenarios.

From the perspective of vehicle operation characteristics, FCEVs have obvious advantages in mileage and energy supply efficiency, and complementary development with EVs in more application scenarios should be further explored. The mileage between two hydrogen refueling cycles of FCEVs is significantly higher than that of EVs between two battery charging cycles in the five demonstration urban agglomerations. FCEVs have significant advantages in long-term mileage and energy supply efficiency. Regarding vehicle hydrogen charging characteristics, the average hydrogen charging duration of FCEVs in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, Shanghai Urban Agglomeration, and Guangdong Urban Agglomeration is about 10 min, and the energy supply duration is equivalent to that of fuel vehicles. In the future, FCEVs are expected to be promoted and applied in long-distance operating vehicles such as heavy-duty trucks and buses.

Since the hydrogen charging frequency of some FCEVs is still high, the pace of construction of hydrogen charging stations will be expedited, and the key technologies of the hydrogen storage system will be strengthened to improve the driving range of FCEVs. Regarding the hydrogen charging behavior characteristics of FCEVs, some FCEVs’ daily hydrogen charging frequency is still high. On the one hand, the number of hydrogen charging stations under construction is relatively small. In order to alleviate mileage anxiety, hydrogen should be charged for FCEVs; On the other hand, the pressure of current mainstream on-board hydrogen storage systems in China is 35 MPa, and the onboard hydrogen cylinder has high cost and low hydrogen storage density. In the future, on the one hand, it is necessary to strengthen the progress of hydrogen charging infrastructure construction; On the other hand, we will accelerate the research on hydrogen storage systems, accelerate the development towards III and IV cylinders with light weight, large volume, higher safety, and lower-cost, and promote the use of alternative composite materials to achieve lightweight hydrogen storage systems and improve hydrogen storage density.

Combining local industries and advantages, the promotion effects of the fuel cell industry in each demonstration urban agglomeration have their characteristics. With the gradual improvement of the hydrogen energy industry chain, the demonstration urban agglomeration is expected to take the lead in achieving large-scale pilot applications during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and the industry will experience rapid growth. Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration and Hebei Urban Agglomeration, taking advantage of the opportunity of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the policy guidance of the Blue Sky Protection Campaign, and relying on the local industrial base and scientific research resources, fully realize the close cooperation among industry, university, and research, promote the acceleration of industrialization process, and achieve remarkable promotion effects of FCEV buses; Taking Shanghai as the leading city, Shanghai Urban Agglomeration radiates Suzhou, Nantong and other surrounding developed cities, giving full play to the initiative of upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain, and is expected to become a rapidly maturing region of the national hydrogen fuel cell industry chain; The number of promoted FCEVs in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration is significantly better than that in other demonstration urban agglomerations. Based on the data from the National Monitoring and Management Platform, by the end of 2021, there had been 2536 FCEVs in Guangdong Urban Agglomeration, accounting for 32.8% of the total FCEVs in China. Guangdong Urban Agglomeration has abundant enterprise resources, including Foshan Feichi Automobile, Changjiang Automobile, and Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle, and core component manufacturers include Sinosynergy, Ballard Power Systems, and Broad Ocean Motor. By taking Foshan as the core and fully leveraging its industrial resource advantages, Guangdong Urban Agglomeration radiates Yunfu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhongshan, and other places, achieving cross-regional industrial coordinated development and gradually forming a development demonstration area with multiple application scenario for FCEV buses and logistics vehicles in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area; Henan Urban Agglomeration has obvious advantages in the fuel cell industry. Yutong Group provides a better carrier for developing the Hydrogen fuel cell industry in Henan Urban Agglomeration.