Amid heightening global anxieties over energy security fuelled by the escalating conflict in the Middle East, China’s top energy regulator has pledged to accelerate the development of its hydrogen industry, hailing the fuel as a “strategic lever” to fortify national energy resilience.

The National Energy Administration (NEA) called for “bold innovation” in the sector during a recent meeting reviewing the progress of hydrogen pilots and outlining future tasks, according to an official readout released on Wednesday.

Highlighting hydrogen’s role in the global energy revolution, the regulator described the fuel as a “key track” in building a modern industrial system.

Last week’s meeting served to emphasise that hydrogen development must be tailored to local conditions, while urging a push for institutional reforms and specifically calling for innovations in hydrogen-trading mechanisms and green certifications.

The NEA gathering signals a shift from “pilot demos” to “scale-up development”, according to Lou Yimin, senior vice-president of Envision Energy, which is currently developing the world’s largest green hydrogen and ammonia project in Inner Mongolia.

Lou said large-scale downstream use in heavy industries was crucial to driving the upstream supply chain and would push the entire hydrogen chain towards faster upgrades.

In December 2025, the NEA designated 41 projects and nine regions as hydrogen-industry pilots, covering the value chain from production and transport to storage and application.