With rapidly expanding electrolyser deployment, renewable-energy integration and industrial applications, China is emerging as a major force in the global green hydrogen economy.
China is moving decisively to scale up green hydrogen, bringing together its strengths in renewable energy, manufacturing and large-scale industrial infrastructure. The country’s rapid progress is increasingly positioning it as an important market for technologies that could shape the next generation of clean industrial fuels.
The latest International Energy Agency (IEA) Global Hydrogen Review 2026 reports that global installed electrolysis capacity more than doubled during 2025, surpassing 4 GW. China accounted for nearly three-quarters of new electrolyser installations, highlighting the speed at which the country is deploying the technology.
Manufacturing Scale Creates an Advantage
One of China’s biggest strengths is its ability to manufacture clean-energy equipment at scale.
China remains the world’s leading electrolyser manufacturing and deployment market. High production volumes, established supply chains and experience with large industrial projects are helping accelerate the development and deployment of hydrogen technologies.
This manufacturing ecosystem could also contribute to continued innovation and cost reductions as electrolyser companies compete to improve efficiency, durability and performance.
For global hydrogen markets, the emergence of increasingly competitive equipment can help make new projects more economically attractive.
Connecting Renewable Energy with Industry
Green hydrogen is produced using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. This creates an opportunity to connect China’s expanding renewable-energy base with industries that require molecules rather than electrons.
Potential applications include steel, chemicals, refining, transport fuels and other industrial processes.
China’s approach increasingly focuses on linking hydrogen production directly with industrial users, creating integrated energy systems rather than developing hydrogen production in isolation.
A Rapidly Expanding Project Pipeline
Large-scale projects are already demonstrating what the technology can achieve.
China has been developing major renewable-hydrogen projects that combine solar or wind power, electrolysers, energy storage and industrial applications. These projects provide valuable experience in operating hydrogen systems at scale and integrating them with renewable electricity.
The country’s project pipeline is also creating opportunities for domestic equipment manufacturers, engineering companies and technology developers.
Green Hydrogen’s Global Opportunity
The opportunity extends well beyond China.
The IEA estimates that global hydrogen demand has now surpassed 100 million tonnes annually, while low-emissions hydrogen is growing from a relatively small base. As governments and industries pursue decarbonisation, hydrogen could become increasingly important in sectors where direct electrification is difficult.
China’s expanding electrolyser industry could contribute to this global market by supplying technology and equipment to projects both domestically and internationally.
From Scale to Global Leadership
China’s advantage is not simply the number of hydrogen projects under development. It is the combination of manufacturing capability, renewable-energy deployment, engineering expertise and industrial demand.
As the sector matures, this combination can help accelerate learning, improve equipment performance and potentially bring down the cost of green hydrogen production.
The next opportunity will be to connect this technological progress with long-term industrial demand and international markets.
