The opening ceremony of the China-UK Hydrogen Energy Cooperation Forum, hosted by the Chinese Consulate General in Manchester, the UK China Commission and the Greater Manchester UK-China Association, was held in Wuhan on Monday. Representatives from the Chinese and British governments, hydrogen academia, science and technology, and business communities discussed cooperation opportunities in the hydrogen energy industry through a video link.

On the same day, Wuhan City and Manchester City signed a memorandum of exchange and cooperation between the two cities' hydrogen energy industry; Wuhan University of Technology and Manchester Metropolitan University signed a letter of intent on hydrogen energy cooperation, and the two sides will cooperate in research and talent training in the hydrogen energy industry. On behalf of China and the UK, Deloitte UK and Wuhan University of Technology respectively introduced the current situation and prospect of hydrogen energy industry development in the two countries, and discussed specific areas of hydrogen energy cooperation in the future.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ambassadorial relations between China and the UK. In 1986, Wuhan City and Manchester City of the UK established sister city relations, which is the first pair of sister city relations between China and the UK.

It is reported that Hubei is one of the earliest provinces to carry out the research and development and application of hydrogen energy industry, after more than ten years of cultivation, the province has initially formed a "science and technology research and development + upstream hydrogen production + midstream storage and transportation + downstream application" of the whole chain development pattern, the key core technologies and products are in the accelerated transition stage from pilot to industrialization. Wuhan is one of the first cities to lay out the hydrogen energy industry in China, and the city has gathered more than 40 key enterprises and research institutes in the hydrogen energy industry. At the same time, Wuhan is also the registration and settlement center of the national carbon emission trading market.

Close cooperation between enterprises, universities and research institutes in the field of hydrogen energy in Hubei Province. In terms of the core components of fuel cells, the province's membrane electrode level leads the country, and Wuhan Technology Hydrogen Power is the fifth largest membrane electrode manufacturer in the world. In terms of fuel cell reactors and systems, the reactors and systems independently developed by enterprises in the province are widely used in the fields of drones, backup power supplies and commercial vehicles. At the same time, in view of the relatively weak hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, hydrogen transport and equipment manufacturing links in China, Wuhan Hydrogen Energy Industrial Park is focusing on the advantages of production, university and research to tackle key problems and promote the accelerated transformation of scientific research results.

Zhao Haishan, vice governor of the Hubei Provincial government, said that in the future, he hopes to promote exchanges and cooperation between Hubei and the UK in the field of hydrogen energy by holding regular seminars and other forms every year. The two sides are encouraged to jointly organize and implement major technology research and development projects, strengthen cooperation in the field of hydrogen energy through various means, and cultivate and expand the whole hydrogen energy industry chain.

According to the arrangement, Wuhan University of Technology will be connected to the cloud with Manchester Metropolitan University, focusing on the difficulties and hot spots of hydrogen energy application, and contributing to the realization of carbon peak carbon neutrality through breakthroughs in the development of hydrogen energy industry.