On 23 March 2022, China’s National Development and Reform Committee and National Energy Administration released a plan on the development of hydrogen energy for 2021-20351 (“Plan”). As the first national-level industry plan for hydrogen development, the Plan recognizes hydrogen as a major component of China’s future national energy system, an important carrier for realizing green- and low-carbon transition to the net-zero economy, and a key direction of China’s strategic emerging industries.

The ongoing shift in the Global Energy landscape has been accelerated by the firm commitment of many governments around the globe to decarbonise and achieve net zero, as well as, most recently, very significant geo-political developments. A number of new energy strategies have been launched by governments around the globe (most notably, in the EU, UK and USA) as well as new regulatory frameworks put into place to enable these strategies.