Starting from March 1st, hydrogen powered vehicles will be exempt from high-speed tolls on highways throughout Shandong Province
According to relevant reports, recently, the Shandong Provincial Department of Transportation, Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission, and Shandong Provincial Department of Science and Technology jointly issued a notice, "Starting from March 1, 2024, hydrogen powered vehicles equipped with ETC package equipment driving on highways in our province will be temporarily exempt from highway tolls, and the policy will be implemented for a trial period of 2 years."
The introduction of this policy is undoubtedly a strong promotion of hydrogen powered vehicles. Hydrogen powered vehicles, as a type of new energy vehicle, have received widespread attention for their environmentally friendly and efficient characteristics. However, due to the relatively high cost of purchasing and using hydrogen powered vehicles, the market popularity still needs to be improved. The policy of exempting hydrogen powered vehicles from highway tolls by the Shandong Provincial Government will undoubtedly reduce the cost of using hydrogen powered vehicles, further promote the market popularization of hydrogen powered vehicles, and make transportation services using hydrogen powered vehicles more competitive.
In addition, this policy will also have a profound impact on the hydrogen energy vehicle market. With the promotion of hydrogen vehicles, the hydrogen energy vehicle market will further expand, promoting the development of the hydrogen energy vehicle industry. At the same time, this will also have a positive impact on China's energy structure, promoting the transformation of China towards a green and low-carbon energy structure.
The policy of exempting hydrogen vehicles from highway tolls by the Shandong Provincial Government is a strong promotion of hydrogen vehicles and an important stimulus to the hydrogen energy vehicle market. It is of great significance in the current economic situation where fuel cell enterprises face difficulties in survival. We hope that this policy can promote the popularization of hydrogen vehicles in the market and further develop the hydrogen energy vehicle market.
It is reported that on December 1, 2023, the "Joint Action Plan for Building China's High Speed Hydrogen Energy" was released at the China Fuel Cell Vehicle Conference. This initiative aims to accelerate the construction of a hydrogen energy high-speed network based on the demonstration clusters of the five cities of Beijing Tianjin Hebei, Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhengzhou, and Hebei. These five city demonstration clusters have a total of 41 cities, with the goal of establishing a hydrogen energy high-speed network connecting the five demonstration city clusters. This plan includes policy support for high-speed operating vehicles and high-speed hydrogen refueling stations, such as reducing highway tolls and optimizing the construction and operation costs of hydrogen refueling stations. Experts point out that China's fuel cell vehicle industry has entered a new stage of development, and the construction of hydrogen energy high-speed will further promote its large-scale development.
Gou Ping, Deputy Director of the State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, once stated at the conference that efforts should be made to strengthen the construction of a high-speed hydrogen energy network system, promote the promotion and application of cross regional, medium and long-distance fuel cell vehicles, and gradually form a hydrogen and fuel cell vehicle industry ecosystem that connects the whole country.
