A conference on the hydrogen fuel cell heavy truck industry is held in Zhangjiagang. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]

A conference on the hydrogen fuel cell heavy truck industry was held on Aug 16 in Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.

During the event, industry experts and scholars discussed the application of the technology of using metals to store hydrogen as well as solutions to bottlenecks in the hydrogen fuel cell heavy truck industry.

Zhangjiagang Yunchang Green Logistics Co, a joint venture by Jiangsu Huachang Chemical Co and Jiangsu Gangcheng Auto Transport Group, announced at the event that it will begin operating hydrogen fuel cell heavy trucks. The first group of 10 trucks that cost 13 million yuan ($1.87 million) will soon be put into use and 500 more trucks are expected to be made available on the market in the coming two years.

Zhangjiagang has in recent years been making efforts to develop its hydrogen energy industry. For example, the city has introduced a series of policies to promote hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and support the building of hydrogen fueling stations.

Zhangjiagang is presently home to more than 30 hydrogen energy-related enterprises and a comprehensive industry chain that spans production, storage and transportation. The output of the city's companies in the sector totaled 14 billion yuan in 2021.