The Role of Hydrogen in Decarbonisation

China, the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2060. Reaching this goal requires major changes to how energy is produced and used. While efficiency improvements, renewable energy expansion and electrification will carry much of the load, they are insufficient in sectors such as steelmaking, chemicals, and heavy transport, where electrification is technically constrained and hydrogen will play a role.

This dissertation examines hydrogen's role in China's energy transition by analysing future decarbonisation pathways, potential hydrogen demand, and willingness-to-pay in key sectors, cost reductions in green hydrogen production, and the influence of government policies. The results show that hydrogen becomes increasingly important as emissions targets tighten, that strong policies such as carbon pricing are crucial to enable competitiveness, that China has significant potential to produce low-cost green hydrogen, and that tailored policy mixes are needed to support both market uptake and technological innovation. Overall, hydrogen is a key pillar for decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors and advancing China's pathway to carbon neutrality.