Tibet's Resource Advantages Are Emerging as Competitive Strengths in the Hydrogen Industry

Recently, the Changdu Investment Promotion Bureau of the Tibet Autonomous Region signed an agreement with Fenghua Hydrogen Energy for a hydrogen-oxygen-heat-power integrated supply system project. The project is supported by a megawatt-scale PEM hydrogen-oxygen combined heat and power (CHP) system, addressing the challenge of local consumption of curtailed wind and solar energy in plateau regions while achieving a new breakthrough in efficient energy utilization at high altitudes.

The project encompasses multiple components, including:

• Self-generated and self-consumed photovoltaic power generation;
• Hydrogen and oxygen production through water electrolysis;
• PSA oxygen generation;
• Ammonia synthesis using hydrogen and nitrogen separated during oxygen production processes at cement plants;
• Carbon dioxide capture and methanol synthesis;
• Hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck operations;
• Hydrogen blending applications;

• Construction of wellness and tourism cabins.

These initiatives are well aligned with Changdu's resource endowment and effectively address key livelihood challenges in high-altitude, cold-climate regions, including oxygen supply, electricity supply, and heating.

The continuous implementation of major projects has accelerated the development of Tibet's hydrogen industry, making the region an increasingly distinctive part of China's hydrogen energy landscape.

Policies Mapping Out the Hydrogen Development Roadmap

The orderly advancement of Tibet's hydrogen industry is underpinned by clear policy planning and strategic guidance.

The Tibet Autonomous Region's 15th Five-Year Plan Outline proposes:

• Expanding the clean energy industry;
• Promoting coordinated development between clean energy and industries such as hydrogen and oxygen production, green computing, and green mining;
• Facilitating local conversion and utilization of energy resources;
• Strategically developing emerging and future industries, including the digital economy, low-altitude economy, hydrogen-oxygen industries, and advanced energy storage;
• Expanding application scenarios for hydrogen and oxygen industries;

• Supporting technological innovation and deployment of green hydrogen, green methanol, and green ammonia.

In recent years, Tibet has established a policy framework spanning national, regional, and local levels.

At the national level, the Catalogue of Encouraged Industries in Western China (2025 Edition) explicitly supports industries such as clean energy-based hydrogen and oxygen production in Tibet.

At the regional level, the Tibet Autonomous Region Hydrogen and Oxygen Industry Development Plan (2024–2030) focuses on renewable-energy-based hydrogen and oxygen production and aims to establish industrial brands such as:

• "Tibet Green Hydrogen";
• "Snowland Green Oxygen";

• "Plateau Hydrogen Valley".

The plan proposes an integrated development pattern of "One Core, Two Corridors, and Three Zones", with Eastern Tibet (Changdu) serving as a key hub for clean energy hydrogen and oxygen production and comprehensive utilization. The initiative is expected to inject new momentum into Tibet's high-quality economic development and provide new support for the concept of "West-to-East Hydrogen Transmission".

At the local level, Shannan City has issued policies to accelerate hydrogen and oxygen industry pilot projects and promote large-scale deployment of hydrogen-oxygen energy systems across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Natural Resource Advantages Create a Strong Foundation

Tibet's natural conditions and energy structure provide unique advantages for hydrogen industry development.

The region possesses some of China's richest renewable energy resources, ranking first nationwide in hydropower, solar energy, and geothermal energy reserves.

Resource potential includes:

• Hydropower: approximately 1.88 trillion kW of theoretical reserves;
• Solar energy: approximately 8.4 × 10¹⁵ MJ of theoretical reserves;
• Geothermal energy: approximately 3.17 × 10¹⁴ MJ of theoretical reserves;

• Wind energy: approximately 1.8 billion kW of theoretical potential.

These abundant renewable resources provide ideal conditions for large-scale, low-cost production of green hydrogen and oxygen.

Tibet also possesses favorable geological conditions for naturally occurring hydrogen accumulations.

In 2025, a natural hydrogen-rich zone was discovered along the Yarlung Zangbo Suture Belt. Surveys identified:

• 592 sampling points with hydrogen concentrations exceeding 100 ppm;
• 33 points exceeding 500 ppm;
• 9 points exceeding 1,000 ppm;

• Maximum recorded concentrations reaching 15,000 ppm.

The plateau environment itself creates distinctive demand-side opportunities.

Due to high altitude and low oxygen levels, atmospheric oxygen concentrations in Tibet are only 50–70% of those found in lowland regions. This generates substantial demand for medical and household oxygen among residents and tourists. Oxygen produced through water electrolysis meets medical-grade standards, creating favorable conditions for integrated hydrogen-oxygen development.

Meanwhile, Tibet has already established major power transmission corridors—including the Qinghai-Tibet, Sichuan-Tibet, Central Tibet, and Ali power networks—but renewable generation remains intermittent and local power consumption capacity is relatively limited. Hydrogen energy storage can improve grid balancing and frequency regulation capabilities, optimize Tibet's power structure, and expand local renewable energy utilization.

Hydrogen Projects Continue Reaching the Roof of the World

In recent years, Tibet's hydrogen industry has achieved a series of important milestones.

Major Projects Progressing Steadily

In January 2025, Tibet's first hydrogen application demonstration industrial park broke ground in Shannan City. The project focuses on hydrogen production, hydrogen equipment manufacturing, and hydrogen vehicle applications, aiming to establish a comprehensive hydrogen industry ecosystem.

In September 2025, the world's first plateau pure-hydrogen gas turbine project was launched in Nagqu. Through a closed-loop model of "green electricity → green hydrogen → hydrogen storage → pure-hydrogen power generation", the project addresses renewable energy curtailment, grid balancing, and power system stability challenges, providing a replicable solution for high-altitude regions.

In January 2026, China Energy Engineering Group Guangdong Electric Power Design Institute signed an agreement for the Lhasa Clean and Low-Carbon Hydrogen Integrated Development Project. The initiative will assess the feasibility and engineering design of a demonstration project capable of producing 100,000 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel annually through a "green electricity–green hydrogen–green fuel" pathway.

Technological Innovation Solving High-Altitude Challenges

Runshihua Hydrogen Energy has independently developed a 5 Nm³/h PEM hydrogen-oxygen integrated system, which has successfully completed delivery and trial operation in Sazang Village, Langkazi County, at an altitude of 5,400 meters.

Under extreme conditions characterized by severe cold and intense ultraviolet radiation, the system maintained electrolysis efficiency above 75%, demonstrating strong adaptability to plateau environments.

Expanding Application Scenarios

Tibet's first hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck has completed test operations in the Nyingchi Economic Development Zone, marking a historic breakthrough in hydrogen transportation equipment deployment in the region.

Meanwhile, Shannan City has become the first area in Tibet to achieve commercial-scale operation of hydrogen-powered buses. The city is also accelerating the construction of charging stations and hydrogen refueling stations while developing a complementary hydrogen-electricity energy supply system.

Tibet has proposed a new energy development framework centered on "One Base and Two Demonstration Zones". Looking ahead, the region will continue to:

• Develop energy equipment manufacturing industries;
• Promote "Clean Energy+" industrial integration;
• Advance pilot projects for renewable-powered hydrogen and oxygen production;

• Explore diversified pathways for hydrogen and oxygen industry development.

Through these efforts, Tibet aims to transform its abundant resource endowment into long-term development advantages, economic competitiveness, and industrial strength, injecting sustainable green momentum into the plateau economy.