The secretary of the provincial Party committee conducts research, and a large northern province "competes" for future development tracks.
On March 18, Huang Qiang, Secretary of the Jilin Provincial Party Committee, visited China FAW Group Co., Ltd. and CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. for research. At CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd., Huang Qiang inspected the production and operation situation in the bogie workshop, took a test ride on the hydrogen - powered train independently developed by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, and listened to the report on the progress of its application and promotion.
Huang Qiang pointed out that the Government Work Report and the Outline of the 15th Five - Year Plan of the country have mentioned cultivating the hydrogen energy industry several times, which is highly consistent with the development direction of our province and brings significant opportunities for the comprehensive revitalization of Jilin. After years of development, the hydrogen energy industry in our province has taken initial shape. In particular, CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles has successfully developed and produced hydrogen - powered trains, making full preparations for the application of hydrogen energy. We should firmly seize this rare opportunity, focus on the relevant arrangements in the 15th Five - Year Plan of the country, promptly improve the hydrogen energy application plan of our province, formulate annual plans, actively communicate with relevant national ministries and commissions, and strive for all - round support.
The Government Work Report this year clearly states that "cultivate new growth points such as hydrogen energy and green fuels". The Outline of the 15th Five - Year Plan also proposes to build a full - chain cultivation system for future industries and promote hydrogen energy and nuclear fusion energy to become new economic growth points.
However, we should also see that the application of hydrogen energy faces problems such as few application scenarios, shortage of green hydrogen, high price, and difficulties in storage, transportation, and refueling. The business model has not yet been formed, and the market demand needs to be released. It requires continuous efforts and key support at the national level. Through application - led development, we should identify and solve problems in the process of "using".
A few days ago, the Notice on Carrying out Pilot Work on Comprehensive Application of Hydrogen Energy jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission pointed out that through pilot projects in urban agglomerations, the application scenarios of hydrogen energy should be expanded from fuel cell vehicles to multiple fields such as transportation and industry where conditions permit.
For Jilin, the hydrogen energy industry is an industrial track that cannot be missed. The western part of Jilin is located on the southwest airflow channel between the Greater Khingan Range and the Changbai Mountains, with a flat and open terrain. It is one of the regions with the richest wind energy resources in Northeast China, enjoying unique advantages in developing new energy.
However, the growth of Jilin's electricity consumption load does not match its new - energy power production capacity. Exploring the on - site conversion into clean energy such as green hydrogen, green ammonia, and green methanol has become a way to absorb the surplus electricity.
As early as in the Medium - and Long - Term Development Plan for "Hydrogen - Powered Jilin" (2021 - 2035) released in 2022, it was proposed to regard the development of hydrogen energy as an important engine for Jilin to promote industrial transformation and upgrading and adjust the energy structure. It aims to connect the hydrogen energy industrial chain, build a new industrial ecosystem, seize the high - ground in the development of the green hydrogen energy industry, and create the "Hydrogen Valley in Northern China". Not long ago, the Sinohydro Corporation Songyuan Green Hydrogen - Ammonia - Methanol Project, the world's largest green hydrogen - ammonia - methanol integration project, was officially put into operation. In the view of the local area, this provides strong support for Jilin to build the largest green hydrogen production base in the country.
Transportation is the leading field for the application of hydrogen energy as an energy source. In October last year, the country's first hydrogen - powered cultural and tourism train, the "Hydrogen Spring", was officially launched in Changchun, Jilin. This train is suitable for the main city and satellite cities, urban core areas, tourist attractions, and special functional areas. It is a green economic system solution customized for the integration of modern urban transportation and cultural tourism.
In terms of manufacturing, it is CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. that has contributed to the industrial production of hydrogen - powered trains. In terms of R & D, there are also research teams from the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Jilin University, providing a solid backing for core technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells.
It is worth mentioning that at the end of last year, Huang Qiang also visited the Jilin Provincial Hydrogen Energy Industry Comprehensive Research Institute established relying on the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. At that time, he emphasized that the hydrogen energy industry is a future industry that Jilin Province focuses on developing during the 15th Five - Year Plan period. We should combine scientific research expertise with industrial needs, focus on all links of the entire industrial chain from green hydrogen production from wind and solar energy to hydrogen energy application, and strive to overcome technical problems.
During this research, Huang Qiang said that we should actively and steadily promote the trial operation of hydrogen - powered trains. On the premise of ensuring safety, we should be bold in exploration and experimentation, accelerate the hydrogen - powered transformation of old railways and tourist lines in the whole province, and promote the transformation section by section as they become mature. We should vigorously promote hydrogen - powered trains in major events such as the Changchun Winter Universiade, so that the world can see the latest achievements of Jilin's green development, and at the same time create good conditions for CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles to expand overseas markets and create new growth points.
According to Jilin's previous plan, by 2025, the layout of the hydrogen energy industry will take initial shape, the industrial chain will be gradually improved, the industrial scale will grow rapidly, the output value of the hydrogen energy industry will reach 10 billion yuan, and the installed capacity of new energy will be driven to reach 5 million kilowatts. By 2030, the hydrogen energy industry in the whole province will achieve leap - forward development, the industrial chain layout will tend to be perfect, the industrial clusters will take shape, and the output value will reach 30 billion yuan.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Urban Evolution Theory", author: Yang Huan. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.