Hydrogen has increasingly become an important part of global energy transition strategies. As China has been a crucial player in promoting renewable energy development, the development of its hydrogen sector has potential significant implications for global energy transition. In March 2022, the Chinese government launched its first comprehensive strategy for promoting its hydrogen development. Simultaneously, local governments have been crucial players at the early stage of developing hydrogen in China, enabling the central government to ‘test the waters’ in the hydrogen sector. This talk will introduce China’s hydrogen-related policy objectives, explore what policy and regulatory support the central government and local governments have granted to advance hydrogen development, and discuss remaining regulatory challenges of developing hydrogen in China.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Xiaohan Gong is currently working with Research Institute for Sustainability (Helmholtz Center, Potsdam), and will work as an OIES-Aramco Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy studies starting from January 2024. She obtained a PhD degree at CUHK in 2021. Her main research interests are energy law and investment law. She acts as an academic peer reviewer for journals in energy law and policy.