Green hydrogen has become crucial in hydrogen industry development as a way to build up a low-carbon, sustainable future, said an expert at World Hydrogen Technology Convention 2023 on Tuesday.

Wan Gang, chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, said the path of energy transformation for low-carbon green development has become clearer as the world promotes hydrogen energy development.

Green hydrogen refers to deriving hydrogen from water electrolysis using renewable electricity, which has substantially lower carbon emissions compared to gray hydrogen, which is primarily produced by steam-reforming natural gas.

By the end of 2022, the number of fuel cell vehicles in the world had reached 67,000, a 36 percent increase year on year. Hydrogen energy technology research and development and industrial development have entered a new stage of rapid development, Wan said.

Wan stressed the significance of the synergy among industries to break through in key technologies and high-level international cooperation in hydrogen energy development.

The World Hydrogen Technology Convention invited over 100 industry experts and company representatives to discuss the latest hydrogen energy technologies and products and their application in different sectors, such as transportation, energy, chemical engineering and architecture, in Foshan, Guangdong Province. Nearly 130 firms participated in the event.

Foshan has been one of the first cities in the country to focus on hydrogen energy development. Foshan's Nanhai District has over 150 hydrogen energy companies and institutes, covering the entire business supply chain with a scale of over 60 billion yuan (about $8.5 billion) investment.

It is currently one of the regions with the largest number of fuel cells and most manufacturers in China.