A New Breakthrough: Pengfei’s First National Key R&D Program Project Has Been Approved for Initiation

Release Date:

2024-01-30

Recently, the key project “High-Precision Batch Manufacturing Processes and Complete Equipment Technologies for Fuel Cell Stacks,” jointly submitted by Pengfei together with Shanghai Hydrogen Morning and Shanghai Jiao Tong University under the National Key R&D Program’s “Hydrogen Energy Technology” priority area, has received approval from the Ministry of Science and Technology. This marks Pengfei’s first nationally approved key R&D project in the hydrogen energy sector, signifying a groundbreaking advance in its R&D capabilities and heralding a full transition into in-depth technical discussions and rigorous academic communication.

The “High-Precision Fuel Cell Stack Assembly and Complete Set of Mass‑Production Equipment” project is driven by major national priorities, including the energy revolution and the building of an energy‑strong nation. Taking convenient hydrogen reforming and high‑efficiency power generation as key breakthroughs, it conducts research on the domestic design and manufacturing of critical components for fuel cell stacks, as well as of essential equipment for stack fabrication, assembly, and activation. This effort aims to substantially enhance China’s independent innovation capacity in hydrogen‑related technologies and its equipment‑manufacturing capabilities, promote industrial upgrading, and ensure that by 2025 China’s hydrogen‑energy R&D level ranks among the world’s leading.

This project was jointly submitted by Pengfei together with nine renowned enterprises and universities, including Shanghai Hydrogen Morning, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Tianjin University. It represents a further step toward deeper integration, following the establishment of strategic partnerships and the joint development of R&D platforms. Pengfei is primarily responsible for the “Adaptability Research and Large-Scale Demonstration Application for Heavy-Duty Vehicles” sub‑project under this National Key R&D Program, providing an actual test platform to evaluate the real‑world performance and applicability of mass‑produced fuel cell stacks in heavy‑duty operating conditions, thereby supporting the project’s final validation phase.

Over the years, thanks to the encouragement and support of Party committees and governments at all levels, as well as various departments, Pengfei Hydrogen Energy has achieved remarkable innovations: it has jointly established an Advanced Manufacturing Technology Joint Laboratory for Fuel Cell Vehicles with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and co‑applied for the National Engineering Research Center for Automotive Power and Intelligent Control; it has also co‑founded the Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory for Advanced Carbon‑Based Electrode Materials with North China University of Science and Technology; the Shanxi Province Hydrogen Energy Achievement Transformation Base and the Shanxi Province Hydrogen Energy Pilot‑Scale Testing Base have both received approval from the Provincial Department of Science and Technology; its independently developed world’s first 250 kW hydrogen fuel engine (single stack) was unveiled in Xiaoyi; the “Hydrogen Production Adsorption Tower Device from Coke Oven Gas and Its Method of Use” has been granted an Invention Patent Certificate by the National Intellectual Property Administration, and five pieces of equipment, devices, and systems have obtained National Utility Model Patent Certificates; it is collaborating with the research group led by Academician Huang Qing of Taiyuan University of Technology on the R&D and manufacturing of Type IV hydrogen storage cylinders; it has established the nation’s first postdoctoral research workstation in Lüliang City; two group standards—“Safety Technical Requirements for the Process of Producing High‑Purity Hydrogen from Coke Oven Gas” and “Energy Consumption Limits and Calculation Methods per Unit Product for Producing High‑Purity Hydrogen from Coke Oven Gas”—have been officially published on the National Group Standards Information Platform, filling a domestic gap in standardization within the field of high‑purity hydrogen production from coke oven gas; furthermore, it has deepened cooperation with leading enterprises inside and outside the province in areas such as technological innovation, industrial synergy, and market expansion, achieving a model of “one enterprise driving one industrial chain, one chain forming an entire cluster,” yielding abundant results that fully demonstrate Pengfei’s strength and potential in the hydrogen energy sector.

Looking ahead, Pengfei will continue to invest heavily in hydrogen‑energy technology innovation, leveraging its role as a model and leader. At the same time, drawing on its established strengths in the hydrogen sector, it will steadily strengthen, extend, and complete the industrial chain, further exploring diversified applications of hydrogen energy. By doing so, Pengfei aims to establish itself as a national hub for innovative hydrogen‑energy applications, contributing to the nation’s efforts to build a powerful energy economy.

The National Key R&D Program is currently China’s highest‑level research and development initiative, focusing on addressing strategic, fundamental, and forward‑looking scientific and technological challenges that are critical to industrial core competitiveness, the nation’s overall capacity for independent innovation, and national security, with the aim of overcoming technological bottlenecks in key sectors of the national economy and social development.