Universiade host province promotes hydrogen-fueled vehicles

The upcoming Universiade in southwest China's Sichuan Province will provide another opportunity for China to promote hydrogen-fueled vehicles, after a previous demonstration drive at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics garnered attention.

A fleet of 80 hydrogen-powered buses will be put into use as commuting vehicles for athletes and staff at the 31st International University Sports Federation (FISU) Summer World University Games, scheduled from July 28 to Aug. 8 in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, according to the executive committee of the games.

As a pilot city in western China for demonstrating the commercial use of hydrogen-powered vehicles since 2017, Chengdu has racked up a total of 20 million km in safe mileage.

The fleet in Chengdu is equipped with hydrogen fuel-cells independently developed by Dongfang Electric Corporation, a Chengdu-based power generation equipment manufacturer.

The hydrogen-powered bus can travel 450 km on a single charge, with the average hydrogen fuel consumption per 100 km measured at only 4 kg.

During the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, a total of 710 hydrogen-powered vehicles were put into operation in Beijing's co-host city of Zhangjiakou, realizing the largest deployment of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for demonstration purposes in the Olympic Games history.

Following the Universiade, Sichuan is expected to hold the 2023 World Clean Energy Equipment Conference in the city of Deyang. World-famous companies such as Siemens, Mitsubishi, Framatome and ABB have registered to participate in the event to share development opportunities.