Hong Kong should import ‘clean hydrogen’ from region to cut reliance on national nuclear power, government adviser says

Hong Kong should explore importing “clean” hydrogen from regional neighbours as an alternative to using nuclear power from mainland China to reduce its carbon footprint, according to the head of a group that advises the government.

Former Hong Kong Observatory director Lam Chiu-ying, now the convenor of the Sustainable Development Council’s support group on the city’s long-term decarbonisation strategy, raised the option on Monday, as local think tank Civic Exchange suggested Hong Kong should switch to generating power drawn from a mix of local and imported renewables to achieve zero emissions by 2050.

“Regional cooperation does not only mean working with Guangdong province,” Lam said. “Our options span the whole of Asia-Pacific from Japan to Australia.”

The city could look into importing clean hydrogen from other countries in the region, he suggested, speaking after Civic Exchange launched its policy report Hong Kong’s emissions reduction strategy.

While burning hydrogen does not emit carbon dioxide, most hydrogen is still produced using fossil fuels. But new technology has made it possible to create clean hydrogen, which splits water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen using solar power for electrolysis. In March, one of the world’s largest solar-powered hydrogen facilities opened in Japan and it eventually aims to export the hydrogen.

“But we will also need to rely on nuclear power for the foreseeable future as the technology that would support power generation from renewables is not yet immediately available,” Lam said.

Electricity generation is the city’s biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions. About a quarter of Hong Kong’s electricity comes from nuclear power imported from mainland China, while fossil fuels, including natural gas and coal, make up most of the remaining sources. Renewables account for about 1 per cent.