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Overview on the Current Global Market and Sustainability of Hydrogen Supply Chain Based on China

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Overview on the Current Global Market and Sustainability of Hydrogen Supply Chain Based on China

Shiyin Wang 1,† Jiayu Pan 2,3,4,† Hang He 5 Jieshan Qiu 6 Maorong Chai 7 Jiajie Bi 2 Zhaolun Wang 2 Xiaojuan Hao 3 Rui Zhang 1,* Chao'en Li 4,*

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1
School of Chemical Engineering, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan 411105, China
2
College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China
3
Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou 325001, China
4
Institute of New Materials and Industrial Technology, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325000, China
5
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Chemical Power Sources, Guizhou Meiling Power Sources Co., Ltd., Zunyi 563003, China
6
College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 15 Beisanhuan East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China
7
State Power Investment Corporation Hydrogen Energy Co., Ltd., Building 2, Yard 15, Xinya Street, Daxing District, Beijing 100162, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.

Received: 12 April 2026 Revised: 18 May 2026 Accepted: 02 June 2026 Published: 12 June 2026

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© 2026 The authors. This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Clean Energy Sustain. 2026, 4(2), 10011; DOI: 10.70322/ces.2026.10011
ABSTRACT: Low carbon energy development is a solid requirement for decarbonization and carbon neutralization of the economy. Hydrogen energy is chosen for achieving a large degree of decarbonization in the fields of industrial, transport, and domestic consumptions. This paper provides an overview on the current state of global hydrogen production and demand, summarizes the momentum of green hydrogen development, and analyzes the possible roles of countries in the global hydrogen trade and cooperation. The status and costs of hydrogen production and transportation in China were systematically examined. While China has become the world’s largest hydrogen producer and consumer, it faces a major structural contradiction that the country’s hydrogen resources are unevenly distributed, abundant in the west but scarce in the east, making long-distance transport costs a key bottleneck for its domestic hydrogen energy development. To address these challenges, three strategic scenarios, including eastward hydrogen transmission, international cooperation, and efficient utilization of wind power for hydrogen production, were proposed to reach the goal that by 2050, the share of coal consumption will drop to 30%, and the share of non-fossil energy will increase to 50%. These scenarios will provide data support and strategic references for the precise positioning of China’s hydrogen market and the construction of a sustainable supply chain.
Keywords: Energy demand; Renewable energy development; Hydrogen market; Hydrogen storage and transportation; Chinese hydrogen development strategy
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