Hong Kong’s nascent hydrogen economy needs bigger push to get rolling, advocates say

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In the last of a four-part series, Eric Ng and Martin Choi look at efforts to ignite a local hydrogen economy in Hong Kong

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Eric NgandMartin Choi

Published: 10:00am, 29 Jun 2024Updated: 11:57am, 29 Jun 2024

In the last of a four-part series, Eric Ng and Martin Choi look at the government’s efforts to ignite a local hydrogen economy in Hong Kong. However, those involved in the promising sector would like the authorities to do more.

Tucked inside an unremarkable Citybus depot sandwiched between a busy highway and the waterfront in West Kowloon, Hong Kong’s first hydrogen-refuelling station has been powering the city’s first and only zero-emission bus since February.

After taking on 40kg of compressed hydrogen in a 10 to 15 minute refuelling process, the fuel cell-powered vehicle is ready for 400km of driving – enough for a full day of operations.

The project is one of about 14 pilots by 10 firms that have won approval from the government to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of hydrogen in various contexts, including making hydrogen from landfill gases, extracting it from the Towngas network, and using it to power street-washing machines and light-rail vehicles.

Some of these projects have support from the government’s HK$400 million (US$51.23 million) green tech fund and HK$200 million new energy transport fund. But it remains to be seen whether Hong Kong’s plan to “advance with prudence”, in the words of one official, will pay off in time for hydrogen to deliver the emissions reductions the city needs to achieve its net-zero goals. Certainly, many involved in the nascent sector would like the government to press harder.

The fuel for Citybus’s lone hydrogen-powered vehicle is made at a facility in Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate by Linde HKO, a unit of the German company that is one of the world’s top industrial gas makers. After using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, the company transports the hydrogen to the refuelling facility using a tube trailer with the capacity to refuel the bus 10 times.

Citybus believes hydrogen buses can be a one-to-one replacement for diesel models. The same cannot be said for current battery-electric buses, which the company is also trying out, said Kenny So Kwok-kin, the operator’s general manager of engineering.

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