On July 7, 2021, the launch and inauguration of the International Hydrogen Energy Center (IHEC) was held in the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality. Mr. Tareq Emtairah, Director of the Energy Department at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); Mr. Yi Zhang, Deputy Director General of China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges, Ministry of Commerce (CICETE); Mr. Guangzhi Jiang, Deputy Director General of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology; and Mr. Qinxian Jin, Director of Beijing Tsinghua Industrial R&D Institute (BTIRDI) attended the ceremony.

The IHEC was inaugurated by Mr. Jian Ma, Deputy Representative of UNIDO Regional office in Beijing, Mr. Yi Zhang, Mr. Guangzhi Jiang, and Mr. Qinxian Jin. The inauguration marked the official operation of the IHEC.

Mr. Zhang said in his remarks that the IHEC would be expected to extensively engage in technology R&D and international exchanges and promote the application and demonstration of hydrogen energy, and that CICETE would also continue to provide high-quality support for the development of the IHEC.

Mr. Tareq Emtairah expressed the hope that hydrogen energy could, through the IHEC, play a key role in the transition of the global energy structure. UNIDO will support the development of the global hydrogen energy industry through multilateral cooperation and promote the IHEC to be an important international platform working with governments, R&D institutions, enterprises and other stakeholders.

Mr. Guangzhi Jiang expressed the willingness to continue to strengthen and broaden cooperation with UNIDO, take the IHEC as a link to provide industrial support and service guarantee for more multinational enterprises and international cooperation organizations to settle in Beijing, and play a leading role in achieving peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality.

Mr. Qinxian Jin said that the IHEC would rely on the global cooperation network of UNIDO to create a highland for hydrogen energy technology R&D, conduct industrial demonstration, build an industrial cooperation ecosystem, and strive to become a hydrogen energy institution with global influence, so as to contribute to the hydrogen energy development in China and even all developing countries around the world.

Ms. Ying Hou, Director of the Automotive Division of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology; Ms. Wei Zhang, Director of the Second Division of the United Nations Business, CICETE; Ms. Li Zhu, Deputy Director of the Second Division of the United Nations Business, CICETE; Mr. Xiaolong Fu, Associate Director of BTIRDI; Mr. Hewu Wang, Associate Professor of School of Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University; Mr. Guoqiang Zhang, Chairman of Sinohytec; Mr. Xiaodong Wang, Chairman of Beijing Dongsheng Expo Investment Management Co., Ltd.; Mr. Yong Wu, Chairman of Tsinghua Innovation Ventures; and Ms. Yanyan Wang, Vice Secretary-General of China EV100, attended the ceremony.

IHEC is a technology innovation centre with global influence in the field of hydrogen energy with the support of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economic and Information Technology and CICETE and in cooperation with UNIDO. Relying on China’s hydrogen energy technology R&D and industrial development, the center will form a hydrogen energy technology and industrial innovation system that integrates basic research, technology R&D and industrial implementation, break through the key bottleneck of each stage of hydrogen energy industrial development, and build a global hydrogen energy technology innovation highland by making key and core technologies R&D, cultivating leading enterprises, carrying out industry application and demonstration, and formulating international standards.