(Yicai) June 26 -- China’s southern Guangdong province issued a blueprint today to increase the use of hydrogen vehicles in local logistics networks, with the economic powerhouse planning to put more than 500 fuel cell vehicles into service this year.

The project will last 18 months until December 2025, covering cities including Guangzhou, Foshan, Dongguan, and Jiangmen. In the first phase, the provincial capital of Guangzhou and Foshan will roll out the plan in their urban cold-chain logistics operations.

The province will put 500 4.5-ton and 10 49-ton hydrogen refrigerator trucks into operation by the end of this year, initially forming a cold-chain logistics network along the Guangzhou-Zhanjiang High-Speed Railway and the Pearl River Delta region, according to the blueprint.

By the end of next year, the project aims to complete the construction of a few integrated oil and hydrogen refueling stations and to operate 2,000 4.5-ton and 100 49-ton refrigerator trucks.

In the initial period, the hydrogen refueling prices will be no more than CNY35 (USD4.82) per kilogram. This pricing policy will encourage more companies and consumers to use the hydrogen vehicles, a person in charge of a hydrogen refueling station in Foshan told Yicai.

In addition, Guangdong will ease restrictions on the hours that hydrogen logistics trucks are permitted to enter the cities and accessible road sections. There will also be a policy on time-limited free parking.

The plan marks a substantial expansion of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle use, and the model has the potential for widespread application, according to Zou Yuquan, chief executive officer of SinoHyKey Technology Foshan.

Editor: Tom Litting