The Chinese parc is expected to reach 130m vehicles by 2020, implying a one-in-ten Chinese ownership density. That parc volume implies a 240m-tonne petrol annual petrol demand for a country which already imports half its oil consumption, but the Chinese administration has proposed a cap on road fuel of 150m tonnes a year – which would impede the development of conventional powertrain vehicle sales.

To date, China has produced 10 FCVs, and is expected to produce 100 by the 2008 Olympics, and 1,000 by the Shanghai World Exhibition planned for 2010. Professor Wan believes Shanghai could become a leading FCV market, suggesting that steam recovered from local steel plants could be used to supply hydrogen via electrolysis sufficient to fuel 50,000 FCVs – the same number as the city’s current taxi population, which could be the first to convert to fuel cell power.