2020 UNDP Hydrogen Industry Conference held in Foshan

The 2020 UNDP Hydrogen Industry Conference opened in Foshan, Guangdong province on Oct. 19, in an attempt to strengthen international cooperation around hydrogen energy.

Themed on "Green Hydrogen, Green Recovery," the four-day event was organized by UNDP China and China Automotive Technology Research Center Co., Ltd, with support from the Foshan Municipal People's Government and the Foshan Nanhai District People's Government.

The event includes several thematic forums to foster in-depth discussions on fuel cell technology, hydrogen energy technology, policy standards, hydrogen safety, and hydrogen energy cooperation.

"Countries now have an opportunity to either invest in returning to yesterday's economy or to invest in tomorrow's economy and that means turning the page on the coal age, the oil age, on all fossil fuels," said Mourad Wahba, UNDP Associate Administrator in a video address. "A key element of this transition will be to further develop the hydrogen and fuel cell industries to help decarbonize our economies and to create a new green prosperous economy."

Beate Trankmann, UNDP Resident Representative in China, said, "Fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen technology play a growing role in the green path forward. The costs of hydrogen production and infrastructure are expected to drop by half by 2030, making it much more competitive."

Trankmann added that according to related studies, clean hydrogen is set to meet 24 percent of global energy demand by 2050, powering a quarter of the world's vehicles and potentially creating 30 million jobs.

The 4th China International Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Technology and Products Exhibition (CHFE2020) was also held on the sidelines of the event. Nearly 300 exhibiting companies demonstrated their advanced technologies and achievements in hydrogen energy infrastructure, hydrogen production, storage, transportation, hydrogen utilization, fuel cells, and fuel cell vehicle manufacturing.

UNDP has supported the demonstration and commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles (FCV) in China over the past 17 years with backing from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and in partnership with China's Ministry of Science and Technology. It also supports the use of hydrogen for combined heat and power (CHP) to reduce fossil fuel use in the country's energy mix, the organization says.