Will the New Policy Wind Propel YiHuaTong to Break Through the Commercialization Dilemma of Hydrogen Energy?

Submitted by JING Jing reporter Chen Yannan, Beijing

Recently, three ministries and commissions including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (hereinafter referred to as the “MIIT”) issued a notice on carrying out pilot projects for comprehensive hydrogen energy applications. The notice proposes that by 2030, hydrogen energy across urban agglomerations will achieve large-scale applications in multiple sectors; the average terminal price of hydrogen will be reduced to below RMB 25 per kilogram, and efforts will be made to bring it down to around RMB 15 per kilogram in certain advantageous regions. The notice also proposes that nationwide hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in operation will double compared with 2025, and efforts will be made to reach 100,000 units.

Many industry insiders believe that this marks China’s hydrogen energy industry shifting from demonstration and exploration to a phase of accelerating large-scale, commercialized development. Against this backdrop, domestic hydrogen fuel cell leader 亿华通 (E-Huatuo) has also been brought back into the spotlight.

What impact will the rollout of the new policy have on 亿华通? For 亿华通, what kinds of business opportunities exist? Can it break through commercially by riding on this policy tailwind? The reporter from China Business News contacted and sent letters to 亿华通, but as of the time of publication, no response had been received.

Six Years of Losses Hang Over It—E-Huatuo Faces the Dual Test of Survival and Transformation

From the capital market spotlight on its first day of listing, to being mired in loss for 6 consecutive years, this domestic hydrogen energy enterprise—the first “A+H” listed company in the sector—is now confronting a survival dilemma driven by continuous performance declines, intensifying funding pressure, and increasingly fierce industry competition.

The reporter learned that 亿华通’s related products are mainly used in commercial vehicles such as buses, logistics vehicles, and heavy trucks. Customers include commercial vehicle enterprises such as Yutong Bus and BAIC Foton. The company listed on the STAR Market in 2020, and then listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2023. 亿华通 has built China’s first fuel cell engine mass-production line, and the fuel cell systems it developed—with different power outputs ranging from 30 to 300 kilowatts—basically cover all road-transportation scenarios.

As an early mover in China’s hydrogen fuel cell engine sector, 亿华通 was once a darling of the capital market, carrying high expectations for China’s hydrogen industry to achieve technological breakthroughs. However, the gap between ideals and reality has plunged this technology leader into a long, wintry period of losses.

According to the 2025 annual performance quick report data, 亿华通’s full-year operating revenue was RMB 26,212.57 million, down 28.51% year-on-year; its net profit attributable to shareholders was a loss of RMB 62,829.39 million, with loss widening by 37.65% year-on-year; and its non-recurring profit was a loss of RMB 68,588.04 million, down 26.37% year-on-year. After 6 years of listing, the cumulative loss has already exceeded RMB 1.6 billion.

Behind the continued deterioration in performance is the simultaneous shrinkage of the company’s assets and equity. At the end of the reporting period, the company’s total assets were RMB 374,142.89 million, down 21.71% from the beginning of the period; shareholders’ equity attributable to owners of the parent company was RMB 201,208.66 million, down 21.43% from the beginning of the period.

According to the information in the quick report, the main factors affecting operating performance are that the hydrogen fuel cell industry is still in its early stage of commercialization. Intensifying market competition has put ongoing pressure on product prices. Due to funding turnover pressure, the company adopted a cautious market-expansion strategy, which led to a year-on-year decline in sales volume of its fuel cell systems during the reporting period, and in turn affected overall profitability.

Industry analysts say that, at present, China’s hydrogen energy industry is still in its early stage of commercialization. Market scale is relatively small, costs remain high, and infrastructure is not yet complete—these are industry-wide problems and also the core causes of 亿华通’s losses. On the one hand, the cost of fuel cell systems remains high; although unit prices have fallen significantly, they have not yet reached the profit range acceptable to downstream customers, meaning that economies of scale are hard to realize. On the other hand, industry competition is becoming increasingly intense. Foreign companies such as Toyota and Hyundai have entered at low prices by leveraging technology licensing; domestic competitors have risen quickly. Combined with the ongoing escalation of price wars, the reduction in product selling prices far exceeds the reduction in costs, directly causing 亿华通’s gross margin to turn negative.

The rocky path of strategic transformation further compounds the company’s predicament. In 2025, 亿华通 planned to acquire 100% of the equity of Xuyang Hydrogen Energy, intending to integrate hydrogen sources, connect the industrial chain, and reduce costs. However, it announced the termination in September of the same year, missing a key breakthrough opportunity. Under pressure from funding, the company had to scale back its business lines, give up some low–gross margin markets, and focus on projects for liquid hydrogen storage and transport as well as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei hydrogen energy corridor, further narrowing its market coverage. At the same time, the loss of core technical personnel and senior executives also poses challenges to the company’s operational stability.

Major New Policy Rolled Out—Hydrogen Energy Enters a New Stage of Large-Scale Commercialization

Hydrogen energy has threefold attributes—energy, resource, and energy-storage medium. The hydrogen energy industry has high technological content, strong low-carbon attributes, and broad development potential. Promoting high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry will provide important support for the green transformation of the economy, the development of new quality productive forces, and achieving the “dual carbon” goals.

During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, China’s hydrogen energy industry has made positive progress and has initially built a relatively complete industrial chain and supply chain. By the end of 2025, cumulative sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles had nearly reached 40,000 units. 574 hydrogen refueling stations had been built, with daily hydrogen refueling capacity exceeding 360 tons/day, ranking first globally. A group of industrialization projects—including green hydrogen at the ten-thousand-ton scale, green ammonia-ethanol at the hundred-thousand-ton scale, and hydrogen metallurgy at the million-ton scale—have been coming online. In the refining and chemical industry and the coal-chemical industry, some green hydrogen has achieved stable replacement applications. National green hydrogen production capacity is approximately 250,000 tons.

However, at present, China’s hydrogen applications still face issues such as too few application scenarios, insufficient green hydrogen supply, expensive prices, and difficulties in storage, transport, and refueling. Business models have not yet taken shape, and market demand needs to be released. Continuous efforts and key support are needed at the national level.

During the 2026 National Two Sessions, hydrogen energy was explicitly included in the “Government Work Report,” positioned as a new growth point for green, low-carbon development. Soon after, the MIIT, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the “Notice on Carrying Out Pilot Projects for Comprehensive Hydrogen Energy Applications.” With policy support fully in place, the development engine of the hydrogen energy industry has been ignited, and it has also brought a glimmer of hope for a breakthrough for loss-stricken 亿华通.

This new policy is a milestone document for China’s hydrogen energy industry to move from demonstration and exploration toward large-scale commercialization. With urban agglomerations as the implementation entities, pilots will be selected through a “bid/submit-and-compete with accountability” approach. Central fiscal funding will apply a “grant-in-lieu-of-award” mechanism—support up to RMB 1.6 billion within a single pilot urban agglomeration over a 4-year cycle, and the total maximum subsidy amount can reach RMB 8 billion. The policy also clearly sets the core targets for 2030: nationwide hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in operation will strive to reach 100,000 units; the average terminal hydrogen price will be reduced to below RMB 25 per kilogram; and in advantageous regions, it will strive to fall to around RMB 15 per kilogram.

For 亿华通, which has been deeply involved in the industry for years, this is both a rare opportunity and a challenge that cannot be missed. From industry development trends, 亿华通’s core advantages coexist with potential risks. The key to reversing performance lies in whether it can capture policy dividends, accelerate large-scale ramp-up, and solve the cost challenges.

Industry insiders note that, for the capital markets, the driving logic of the hydrogen energy sector may shift from concept hype to the ability of enterprises to secure orders, control costs, and realize profitability. Investors should also be cautious: most hydrogen energy companies are still in an investment phase, and it will take time to realize earnings. Moreover, uncertainties still remain regarding technology routes and the effectiveness of pilot implementation. Sector sub-division may become the norm.

Currently, 亿华通 is stepping up its efforts repeatedly. On March 14, 2026, 亿华通 formally signed a strategic cooperation agreement with HMT New Energy and the Hebei Hydrogen Energy Association. The timing of this signing coincides with the policy window period for the first batch of hydrogen energy pilots rolled out by the National Energy Administration. Centered on the Zhang Cheng Tang Hydrogen Energy regional pilot project, the three parties have launched a new practical approach to deep integration across government, industry, academia, research, and application.

As one of the nine regional hydrogen energy pilot projects nationwide, the Zhang Cheng Tang Hydrogen Energy regional pilot carries an important mission to explore cross-regional hydrogen energy coordinated development. The Kangbao–Caofedian hydrogen long-distance pipeline, as the core pilot engineering project, is also a key link for building a “Zhang Cheng delivers hydrogen, Tangshan applies hydrogen” pattern. Under the agreement, HMT New Energy will rely on this “hydrogen mega-artery” pipeline designed to deliver 1.55 million tons of hydrogen per year to provide stable and efficient hydrogen transportation and supply services for companies across 亿华通’s upstream and downstream chain, addressing an industry pain point of high storage, transport, and storage costs for hydrogen.

Of note, the recommendations submitted by Zhang Guoqiang, Chairman of 亿华通 and a National People’s Congress representative, during the Two Sessions, align highly with the direction of the new policy. He proposed practical measures such as increasing support for hydrogen high-speed demonstration projects, exempting hydrogen fuel cell vehicle expressway tolls, reducing terminal hydrogen prices, and moderately taking a proactive layout of hydrogen refueling infrastructure, directly targeting the pain points in commercialization.

“The fuel cell vehicle industry has completed technical breakthroughs ‘from 0 to 1,’ and highway logistics scenarios will become a key breakthrough for large-scale application,” Zhang Guoqiang said.

At present, the wave of commercialization in the hydrogen energy industry has arrived, and the market is also waiting for 亿华通 to deliver a breakthrough answer—witnessing China’s rise in hydrogen energy.

Abundant information and precise interpretation—Find it all on the Sina Finance app