Inside Out | As China leads the way, a ‘hydrogen society’ may be getting closer to reality
- Hydrogen has much potential as a clean, renewable energy source and China, as the leading producer, is well placed to lead the global push
- In Hong Kong, for a start, officials must remove legislative obstacles to the use of hydrogen vehicles
After a decade of tech briefings and blue-sky imagining of the on-off prospects for hydrogen as a radical green force driving us towards net zero in 2050, a mood of optimism has recently warmed the room.
Scepticism about the feasibility of hydrogen power – complaints that the technology is too complex, too expensive and not even green – has given way to progress, and China seems set to lead the way.
Closer to home were reports in June that Citybus, owned by Bravo Transport, acquired the first hydrogen-powered double-decker bus in Hong Kong. Here at last was evidence that Hong Kong is doing something that might put us in the vanguard of efforts to assuage global warming. Bravo Transport indeed.
Under the Dangerous Goods Ordinance, hydrogen is regarded as a dangerous substance, making it illegal to produce, store or transport it – even if it is at the heart of a fuel cell driving a new double-decker.
