The extraordinary progress of this on-going project, developed and built upon the successful experience of the GEF funded Fuel Cell Vehicles Commercialisation Demonstration Project, in addition to policy recommendation and demonstrating the operations of fuel cell buses and using hydrogen as a clean source of energy carrier, includes:

1)      Rugao was awarded “Hydrogen Featured Town” by the Government of Jiangsu Province, and “Hydrogen Pilot City” by UNDP China

2)      Rugao became the heart of communication and exchange for the fuel cell industry worldwide, with the successful organisation of 3 International Fuel Cell Vehicle Congresses that attracted respectively 500, 1,200, 2,500 participants

3)      A successful roadshow from Rugao to Nantong and finally Shanghai, and an exhibition featuring multi-city, multi-vehicle type, and multi-manufacturer, quite a feat itself for hydrogen vehicles.

4)       An industrial cluster anchored in the Yangtze River Delta.

Objectives:

The project was designed to demonstrate the application of hydrogen production and technology in the field of manufacturing and consumer and build the first “Hydrogen City” to demonstrate the hydrogen economy, with the goal of promoting the sustainable development of China and mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change.

Expected results:

The strategy consists of component covering the areas of

·         Development Hydrogen Economy Development Roadmap in Rugao, the 1^st UNDP-China Hydrogen Economy Pilot;

·         Demonstration of feasibility of hydrogen production, including generation of hydrogen through renewable energy, industry recycling and reusing, improving production methods and developing related technical standards;

·         Demonstration of hydrogen energy storage and refilling station built;

·         Demonstration of the application of hydrogen energy in the field of transportation and domestic uses, and development of related technical standards;

·         Hydrogen Policy framework and carbon emission trading potential explored based on the hydrogen economy, including the carbon emission reduction methodology development in the area of industry by-product, transportation and home-used distributed heat and electricity generation;

·         Increasing the awareness and knowledge among general public and key stakeholders about hydrogen.