Hong Kong Unveils First Five-Year Plan to Spark Multi-Pronged Hydrogen Growth

HONG KONG, September 16^th  —  Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee unveiled The First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026–2030). The plan calls for deepening hydrogen cooperation and exchanges between Hong Kong and Guangdong, spanning information sharing, demonstration applications, standards promotion, industrial technology development, talent cultivation, financial services and professional services.

To advance green mobility, Hong Kong will push forward vehicle electrification and build out hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, supporting the goal of zero-emission vehicles by 2050. The city also plans to start constructing smart green mass transit systems across multiple districts from 2027.

The plan promotes the development of smart green ports. Hong Kong will build a green marine fuel bunkering and trading centre, link Pan-Pearl River Delta cities to create a "green energy corridor", and explore co-building a new-energy vessel industrial chain, forming an industrial landscape of "production and storage in South China, bunkering and trading in Hong Kong, serving vessels worldwide". In aviation, Hong Kong will leverage the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production base in Dongguan to advance the Greater Bay Area SAF industrial chain, with plans to build fuel blending facilities in Hong Kong.

Regarding green technology and new energy, Hong Kong will implement the Strategy of Hydrogen Development in Hong Kong and expand local hydrogen utilizations. The plan supports hydrogen project construction and infrastructure investment, and pairs these efforts with green financial services. It aims to enhance international mutual recognition of Hong Kong's green hydrogen products, establish the city as a demonstration window for hydrogen technologies, and provide financing and professional services for hydrogen-related technologies and products.

The plan also calls for optimising the local energy mix, targeting an end to routine coal-fired power generation by 2035 while lifting the share of zero-carbon energy in power generation to 60–70%, with electricity prices kept stable. In addition, Hong Kong will build a carbon trading hub, align with international carbon credit mechanisms and establish cooperation platforms for emissions reduction.

Source: People's Daily Online