Commuters in Beijing may be able to ride in zero-emission hydrogen-powered buses next year.

According to an agreement signed between Daimler Chrysler and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) yesterday, China will purchase three hydrogen-powered, Mercedes-Benz Citaro fuel cell buses from the German auto-maker in the coming year.

The three vehicles will be put into day-to-day operation in the capital city in September next year as demonstration vehicles to market fuel cell buses in China, Shi Dinghuan, MST's secretary general told China Daily yesterday.

"China is formulating its energy strategy for the next two decades and hydrogen energy - as a kind of clean, efficient, safe and sustainable energy resource - has been put on the nation's energy development priority list, Shi said.

Statistics from MST show that a total of US$32.36 million has been injected into fuel cell bus commercialization - which was started in March last year - under the auspices of Global Environment Facility (GEF), United Nations Development Program and cities of Beijing and Shanghai.

"The home-made experimental fuel cell cars and buses are a great success and have traveled more than 2,000 kilometers in experimental trips," Shi said.

In early 2001, Dongfeng Electric Vehicle Co Ltd headquartered in Wuhan, in central China's Hubei Province, built the nation's first fuel cell mini-bus with 30 kilowatt Proton-exchange-membrane.

In August last year, Shanghai Fuel Cell Vehicle Powertrain Co Ltd unveiled a fuel cell car prototype - named "Start I" - based on the popular SANTANA 2000 in collaboration with Shanghai God Power Company, Tongji University and other auto-producing companies in the East China's metropolis.

A fleet of such vehicles as well as hybrid electric cars and other vehicles powered by clean energy are expected to serve the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, Shi predicted.

"Since China faces energy shortages and environmental pollution, it is of crucial importance for the country to develop clean and efficient energy to maintain the sustainable development of the economy," Shi said.

"And hydrogen energy is in the direction of future development in that China has abundant hydrogen production with an annual production capacity reaching 8 million tons," he added.

Shi was echoed by Professor Mao Zongqiang, of Beijing's Tsinghua University, who said that, with the daily decrease of oil resources and surging prices, the advantages of hydrogen energy will stand out in the future when the high cost of pollution is taken into consideration.

However, because of immature clean energy technology as well as the high cost of its utilization, there is a long way to go before hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles go into large-scale production, said Mao, who is also the chairman of the China Association for Hydrogen Energy.

To promote the development and use of hydrogen energy in countries worldwide, an international hydrogen energy forum opened in Beijing yesterday, which attracted more than 700 participants from countries throughout the world. It will last until Friday.

"Here in China the automobile market is developing at breathtaking pace, and the oil supplies are becoming more and more dependent on imports. It is a challenge for us all to develop a comprehensive energy strategy that safeguards sustainable growth of the automobile industry and enables intensified environmental protection," said professor Herbert Kohler, DaimlerChrysler chief environmental officer at the opening ceremony of the forum.

Rather than finding one quick solution, auto makers and energy providers need to continually explore and develop all options available today to fuel cells powered by hydrogen, he added.

(China Daily May 26, 2004)