By Frank Wouters, Chairman of the MENA Hydrogen Alliance
Early September, Paul van Son and I were invited to attend and speak at the 2025 Global Energy Interconnection Conference held in Beijing, organized by GEIDCO, the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization. The three-day conference gathered professionals from all over the world to discuss how to accelerate the energy transition through innovation, the development and deployment of renewable energy technologies including green hydrogen, interconnection initiatives, standardization and many other topics. An important thread throughout the week was the need to collaborate, also across borders, an important signal in times of growing trade tensions.
It is impressive what China is achieving. They have almost singlehandedly made solar PV technology the lowest cost option for electricity generation. In wind it took them a little longer, but the top 4 largest wind turbine manufacturers in the world are now Chinese. The same can be said for lithium-ion batteries, where 4 out of the 5 largest producers in the world are from China, with CATL alone producing 38% of global demand last year. There are an estimated 190 Chinese manufacturers of hydrogen electrolysers currently on the market and BYD produced more than 4 million EVs and plug-in hybrid EVs, more than anyone else.
So, what is the secret sauce? I believe several elements contribute to this success. Firstly, the government provides a long-term and stable view on where things are going. Combined with sometimes generous support by the central and local governments, companies have a solid framework for investment. Secondly there is ample financing available for companies to build factories. And more and more areas in China have excellent and world class infrastructure available, providing integrated value chains for industries to be very competitive. Fourthly, China’s domestic market is huge, providing an opportunity to jump to scale much faster than elsewhere. And scale and integrated supply chains are crucial elements for any industry to be cost leaders.
What can we learn from China? I believe a strong focus on domestic demand for these technologies can lead to similar scale effects elsewhere, allowing for domestic industries to compete on their home turf. But there is more work to be done, most notably in streamlining permitting procedures, as well as lowering thresholds for accessing finance. And more and more companies are entering into international JVs with Chinese companies, also to innovate and build production capacity where it makes sense. Collaboration is key.