InnoTech Forum: Hong Kong officials must do more to nurture hydrogen energy
The government should streamline approvals for more projects and offer more financial support, speakers at InvestHK’s forum said
Senior executives from across the energy supply chain in Hong Kong have called for more support to accelerate the development of the city’s hydrogen ecosystem.
The government should streamline approval procedures, allow more pilot projects and offer more financial support, all of which would accelerate investment and help reduce costs, industry leaders said on Friday at the InnoTech Forum hosted by InvestHK, the government department tasked with promoting foreign investment in the city.
“If the government can come up with a code of practice and standards applicable to hydrogen projects in Hong Kong in the future, it will make it easier for companies that want to invest in the sector,” said Norman Cheng, business development director at Veolia Hong Kong. A clear road map of where hydrogen development is going “would also enhance the confidence of investors”, he added.
Veolia, a global company involved in management of water, waste and energy resources, has joined with gas distributor Hong Kong and China Gas (Towngas) to develop Hong Kong’s first green hydrogen project at the South East New Territories Landfill Extension in Tseung Kwan O. It will capture and turn landfill gas into hydrogen to supply energy while preventing emission of the highly potent greenhouse gas.
A slow approval process is one of the “pain points” for companies interested in deploying hydrogen demonstration projects in Hong Kong, said Shao Ruizhe, assistant president with China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong).
“We hope that as hydrogen energy technology matures in the future, the approval time can be shortened,” he said, adding that approval for a project the company is involved in took about a year.
His company has partnered with Hong Kong Nation-Synergy International Hydrogen Power Technology and Sinopec (Hong Kong) on a pilot project to generate electricity from hydrogen and supply it to a construction-site office at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in Lok Ma Chau.
