Chongqing Aims to Build 60 New Hydrogen Refueling Stations by 2035, and Promote 4,000 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

Chongqing is taking action to establish itself as a hydrogen energy hub in Western China and drive regional energy transformation. On December 16, the Chongqing Economic and Information Commission issued the Development Plan for the Hydrogen Refueling Station Industry in Chongqing Municipality (2025-2035) (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). The blueprint outlines a decade-long strategy to construct 60 new hydrogen refueling stations, bringing the total number of operational stations to 72, with an annual hydrogen supply capacity reaching 25 million kilograms by 2035. Accelerating

To date, Chongqing has already built 12 hydrogen refueling stations and operates 477 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

According to the Commission, with the accelerated development of application scenarios such as the "Chengdu-Chongqing Hydrogen Corridor" and the "Cross-regional Hydrogen Trucking Corridor along the Western Land-sea Trade Route," the adoption scale of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen demand in the municipality continue to grow. A preliminary facility network covering hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and refueling has taken shape.

In terms of hydrogen supply, industrial by-product hydrogen annual production in areas like Changshou District and Tongnan District exceeds 1.5 billion cubic meters, sufficient to meet the annual hydrogen demand of 20,000 buses or 500,000 passenger cars. Simultaneously, a short-distance hydrogen transportation network has initially formed, with approximately 60 hydrogen transport vehicles currently in operation, creating a distribution radius of 150 kilometers.

The 12 hydrogen refueling stations already in operation include 9 stations for public service and 3 special-purpose hydrogen supply facilities. These stations cover key industrial areas and transportation hubs in the main urban zones, with a total daily refueling capacity of 7,500 kilograms.

Table 1 Operational Hydrogen Refueling Stations

No.	District	Quantity	Station name
1	Nan'an District	1	Chayuan Fuel Station
2	Shapingba District	1	Silk Road Fuel Station
3	Jiulongpo District	1	Banshan Huandao Gas Station
4	Liangjiang New Area	3	Airport Gas Station, Shuangxi Fuel Station, National Hydrogen Energy Center Temporary Hydrogen Supply Station
5	Jiangjin District	1	Jiangjin Shuangbao Gas Station
6	Changshou District	2	Changshou Economic and Technological Development Zone Integrated Refueling Station, Changshou Yanjia Hydrogen Mother Station
7	Tongnan District	1	Tongnan Chengtou Integrated Energy Station
8	Dianjiang County	1	Dianjiang Proving Ground Hydrogen Refueling Station
9	Qijiang District	1	Qijiang Ganshui Service Area
Total		12

▲ Screenshot from the Website of the Chongqing Economic and Information Commission

Supporting this infrastructure, the municipality has 477 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in operation across sectors such as public transport, sanitation, and regional logistics. This creates a synergistic "vehicle-station coordination" effect, where vehicle deployment drives hydrogen refueling station demand and layout planning.

A Three-Phase Implementation Roadmap

The Plan states that our municipality will focus on building a comprehensive hydrogen refueling network, implementing the construction of hydrogen refueling stations in phases to form a hydrogen infrastructure system characterized by a "complete network, demand-supply adaptation, and intelligent safety."

Specifically, the municipality will prioritize the construction of hydrogen refueling stations along the "Two Corridors": the "Chengdu-Chongqing Hydrogen Corridor," which primarily covers expressways such as Chengdu-Chongqing Expressway, Chongqing-Chengdu Expressway, and Chengdu-Suining & Suining-Chongqing Expressway, and the "Cross-regional Hydrogen Trucking Corridor along the Western Land-sea Trade Route," focusing on the layout along the Chengdu-Guizhou-Guangxi Expressway. Simultaneously, the construction of hydrogen refueling stations along important logistics corridors such as the Chongqing-Changsha Expressway and Chongqing-Yichang Highway will be advanced, ultimately forming a trunk hydrogen refueling service network that connects the municipality's major urban areas, key industrial parks, and core logistics hubs.

In this regard, the Plan outlines that the construction of new hydrogen refueling stations will be divided into three phases: from 2025 to 2027, the focus will be on completing the construction of 10 new hydrogen refueling stations, achieving a daily hydrogen supply capacity of 15,000 kilograms, and initially establishing a regional hydrogen refueling service network; from 2028 to 2030, the scale of construction will continue to expand, with 20 new hydrogen refueling stations added, increasing the daily hydrogen supply capacity to 40,000 kilograms, and further enhancing service coverage; from 2031 to 2035, 30 new hydrogen refueling stations will be completed, pushing the daily hydrogen supply capacity beyond 70,000 kilograms and achieving the overall construction objectives.

Expanding Five Application Scenarios to Deploy 4,000 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

Alongside the construction of hydrogen refueling stations, Chongqing will simultaneously advance the deployment of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

According to the Plan, the municipality will expand five major application scenarios for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, including the development of cross-regional hydrogen corridors such as the "Chengdu-Chongqing Hydrogen Corridor" and the "Cross-regional Hydrogen Trucking Corridor along the Western Land-sea Trade Route," as well as expanding hydrogen energy applications in the main urban area, the Wuling Mountains urban agglomeration in southeastern Chongqing, and the Three Gorges Reservoir urban agglomeration in northeastern Chongqing.

The "Chengdu-Chongqing Hydrogen Corridor" application scenario will primarily utilize the Chengdu-Chongqing Expressway, Chongqing-Chengdu Expressway, Chengdu-Suining & Suining-Chongqing Expressway as main arteries, coordinating to establish hydrogen supply networks along these expressway trunk lines, thereby increasing the scale of intercity hydrogen fuel cell vehicle applications.

The "Cross-regional Hydrogen Trucking Corridor along the Western Land-sea Trade Route" application scenario will focus on the Chongqing-Guizhou Expressway and Chongqing-Kunming Expressway and the Beibu Gulf port cluster, connecting key regional hubs such as Chongqing International Logistics Hub Park, Guiyang Comprehensive Bonded Zone, and Nanning International Railway Port. The municipality will continue to improve its hydrogen infrastructure network, gradually expanding the application scale of hydrogen fuel cell trucks and extending operations to surrounding urban agglomerations.

Additionally, the main urban area application scenario will deploy hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in port logistics, intercity freight, and municipal engineering projects. The Wuling Mountains urban agglomeration in southeastern Chongqing will apply hydrogen vehicles to expressway trunk lines, passenger transport, cold chain logistics, and agricultural product transportation. The Three Gorges Reservoir urban agglomeration in northeastern Chongqing will utilize hydrogen vehicles in port and industrial logistics, as well as ecological tourism.

The Plan projects that the municipality's hydrogen fuel cell vehicle deployment will reach 800 units by 2027, 2,000 units by 2030, and 4,000 units by 2035.

Table 2 Historical and Projected Scale of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Deployment

Year	Vehicle scale (existing/projected)	Explanation
2020-2024	377	According to data from the Integrated Operation and Monitoring Platform for Fuel Cell Vehicles, the average annual increase is 75 vehicles.
2025	477	Approximately 100 new vehicles are expected to be added in 2025.
2027	800	Driven by the development of the hydrogen energy industry, an estimated 330 new vehicles will be added over two years.
2030	2,000	As infrastructure gradually improves, an estimated 1,200 new vehicles are projected to be added over three years.
2035	4,000	With the maturation of hydrogen energy application scenarios along high-speed corridors, an estimated 2,000 new vehicles will be added over five years.

▲ Screenshot from the Website of the Chongqing Economic and Information Commission

Source: Chongqing Daily