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Yujie Xue

Hong Kong’s major natural gas company is looking to produce hydrogen for application in other industries, showing commitment to the market at a time when companies and governments are cancelling or scaling back plans amid cost challenges.
Hong Kong and China Gas, or Towngas as the sole natural gas producer is known, will start work on building the city’s first public electric vehicle (EV) charging station powered by hydrogen, it said on Friday. The venture was expected to commence operations next year, it added.
The firm will extract hydrogen from its existing gas network, chief operating officer Don Cheng Hill-kwong said, as part of its contribution to Hong Kong’s 2050 peak-emissions target. It would initially feature five charging piles, while the power production costs would be higher compared to other power sources, he said.
“Once our business scales up, we believe the costs of electricity generated from hydrogen will be lower than other green power sources,” he added.

Towngas’ announcement added to recent mixed signals from the hydrogen industry amid challenges in production costs, demand and commercialisation prospects for the low-carbon fuel.
Earlier this month, Hyundai Motor revealed plans to deploy 1,000 hydrogen fuel-cell trucks in southern Guangdong province by 2029. The South Korean carmaker earlier said it would open a dedicated centre in mainland China to focus on hydrogen fuel cell technologies.
Stellantis took the opposite route. The Dutch automaker last week decided to scrap its hydrogen fuel cell technology programme and stop launching hydrogen-powered vehicles this year, citing limited refuelling infrastructure and high capital outlays.
“The hydrogen market remains a niche segment, with no prospects of midterm economic sustainability,” Jean-Philippe Imparato, Stellantis’ chief operating officer for Europe, said in a statement.
Hydrogen is viewed as a promising and cleaner energy source since it contains no carbon in its molecular structure and produces only water vapour when burned, thereby limiting air pollution.
Several countries have unveiled ambitious plans to develop local hydrogen supply chains to help meet their climate targets. China produced 36.5 million tonnes of hydrogen in 2024, more than a third of global output, making it the most ambitious player.
It has overtaken Japan as the leader in hydrogen-related patents, according to a report by Astamuse in May. The Tokyo-based research firm examined some 180,000 patents filed between 2013 and 2022 across five areas: production, storage, shipment and supply, safety management and usage.
Chinese firms could dominate the hydrogen supply chain, just as they have with EVs, if other countries fail to keep up with fresh investments, the Financial Times reported in May, citing Mitsumasa Yamagata, president of Toyota’s hydrogen business unit, in an interview.
However, achieving affordable, clean hydrogen fuel production, establishing infrastructure such as refuelling stations, and developing low-cost hydrogen vehicles, along with a viable business model for hydrogen applications, have proven challenging.
US President Donald Trump’s hardline stance against clean energy and ongoing trade tensions have slowed global efforts to develop the hydrogen economy, analysts said. Other developers of green hydrogen have scaled back investments and scrapped projects globally.
British oil giant BP decided in April to disband its team focused on hydrogen and liquefied natural gas for transport. Spain’s Repsol cut its 2030 target for green hydrogen production by up to 63 per cent, its CEO Josu Jon Imaz said in February, citing high costs in an industry that was heavily reliant on subsidies.
“All stakeholders moving at once is the most important thing for bringing the cost of hydrogen down,” Toyota’s Yamagata said in the Financial Times report.


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‘Once our business scales up, the costs of electricity generated from hydrogen will be lower than other green power sources,’ COO Cheng says


‘Once our business scales up, the costs of electricity generated from hydrogen will be lower than other green power sources,’ COO Cheng says.


Towngas to build hydrogen-powered EV charging stations amid mixed industry signals

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘Once our business scales up, the costs of electricity generated from hydrogen will be lower than other green power sources,’ COO Cheng says

‘Once our business scales up, the costs of electricity generated from hydrogen will be lower than other green power sources,’ COO Cheng says