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A Chinese company is working to develop a hydrogen vehicle ecosystem
Spotted: Offshore energy company CMIC has been working to enhance its portfolio of hydrogen energy projects. Its most recent move is an investment in Shenzhen Intelligent Hydrogen Industry Co., a hydrogen-powered truck leasing platform.
The investment is one of several steps CMIC is taking to grow its position in the hydrogen value chain, as it bets on the future of hydrogen-powered transport in China. CMIC is also investing in green hydrogen production and refuelling technology businesses. The company plans to integrate the capabilities of these businesses to develop the necessary resources, and expertise to create a complete supply chain for the use of hydrogen fuel in vehicles.
The investment in Shenzhen Intelligent Hydrogen will give CMIC access to that company’s proven technologies for hydrogen-fuelled trucks, along with their vehicle management and operations platforms. The goal is to speed up the development of commercial hydrogen vehicles and applications to create an entire hydrogen ecosystem that includes hydrogen-powered heavy trucks, core equipment for hydrogen refuelling stations, and operation platforms.
CMIC describes itself as having a forward-looking view of the hydrogen energy industry, and the company describes the deal as expediting, “the realisation of the design and implementation of the commercial hydrogen production and refuelling systems to enable the delivery of high-quality hydrogen fuel heavy truck vehicles and the integration of vehicle operation platforms. This will remove critical obstacles customers face in the commercial usage of hydrogen fuel heavy trucks and stimulate the sales of relevant core products of the shareholder companies.”
Hydrogen is increasingly being seen as a viable and sustainable replacement for liquid fuels. Although the infrastructure has a long way to go before hydrogen-powered vehicles are as common as battery electric vehicles, innovations in the hydrogen space are growing rapidly. Springwise has recently covered a number of these, including a zero-emission racing truck that uses hydrogen and electricity and an aerogel that could help produce cleaner hydrogen.