At the beginning of the "15th Five-Year Plan", Sinopec's strategic signal to the market was clear and firm: go all out to strengthen hydrogen energy.

on March 23, Hou qijun, chairman of Sinopec, said on the hydrogen energy plan at the company's 2025 annual performance presentation meeting that the company accelerated the development of the hydrogen energy industry as an important business of new energy. In recent years, Sinopec has accelerated the establishment of "China's No. 1 Hydrogen Energy Company", focusing on the carbon reduction of the green hydrogen industry and the scale development of hydrogen energy transportation, vigorously promoting the research and development and application of hydrogen energy technology in the whole industry chain, and actively promoting the high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry through infrastructure construction such as large-scale green electricity hydrogen production projects and hydrogenation stations.

Hou Qijun stressed that

this strategic determination is not a temporary move. In the context of energy transformation, hydrogen energy has become the core of Sinopec to break through the traditional business boundaries and cultivate the "second growth curve.

From Zhang Yuzhuo's strategic breakthrough, to Ma Yongsheng's scale attack, to Hou Qijun's ecological deepening, Sinopec's three leaders have always maintained the same strategy and gradually transformed hydrogen energy ambition into solid industrial practice. Their decision-making and deployment not only have a profound impact on the transformation path of this energy giant, but also have played a significant demonstration and traction role in the development of the entire Chinese hydrogen energy industry.

This article will systematically sort out the core statements and key deployments of the three chairmen, review Sinopec's hydrogen energy strategy evolution path, and provide a reference sample for understanding the development of China's hydrogen energy industry.

As the" founder "of Sinopec's hydrogen energy strategy, Zhang Yuzhuo took the lead in breaking the development boundary of traditional energy enterprises, incorporating hydrogen energy into the group's long-term development layout, and building a core framework for subsequent industrial promotion.

As early as 2020, Zhang Yuzhuo, then chairman of Sinopec, put forward the strategic concept of "one base, two wings and three new", explicitly bringing hydrogen energy into the "three new" business category, officially upgrading the hydrogen energy industry to the group's strategic level, marking Sinopec's official sound of hydrogen energy transformation. This strategic layout has broken the traditional pattern of Sinopec with oil and gas business as the core, opened up a new track for the development of new energy for the enterprise, and also demonstrated the determination of traditional energy giants to transform to green and low-carbon.

In April 2021, when Zhang Yuzhuo was a guest on CCTV's "Dialogue" column, he further clarified the specific development goals of the hydrogen energy industry: Sinopec will build 1000 hydrogen refueling stations during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. Build a hydrogen energy infrastructure network covering major regions of the country.

Under the guidance of Zhang Yuzhuo, Sinopec has initially completed the strategic layout of the hydrogen energy industry, established the core position of hydrogen energy from the conceptual level, and laid the key foreshadowing for the deepening of the subsequent two chairmen.

took over the" baton "of hydrogen energy development. Ma Yongsheng's tenure coincided with the critical period of development in the" 14th Five-Year Plan ". He always regarded hydrogen energy as the core of new energy business and made clear the development direction in public many times to promote the hydrogen energy industry from strategic layout to large-scale landing.

in March 2022, ma Yongsheng said in an interview with surging news that Sinopec is actively embracing green change and plans to build a total of 1000 hydrogenation stations or oil-hydrogen mixing stations by 2025. At the same time, the company strives to build China's first hydrogen energy company by the end of the 14th five-year plan, with an annual carbon dioxide emission reduction of more than 10 million tons.

in March 2023, at the 2022 annual performance presentation meeting, ma Yongsheng further refined the development path: "the company actively and continuously promotes the development of energy transformation and accelerates the development of new energy business with hydrogen energy as the core. Focus on the two major areas of hydrogen energy transportation and green hydrogen refining, vigorously develop hydrogen energy integration business, and strive to build China's first hydrogen energy company with the largest scale, leading technology and first-class management."

With the deepening of the development of the industry, Ma Yongsheng's strategic positioning of hydrogen energy continues to deepen. In April 2024, at the inaugural meeting of the Central Enterprise Green Hydrogen Energy Storage and Transportation Innovation Consortium, he emphasized that the hydrogen energy industry is the key development direction of my country's emerging industries and future industries, and is one of the important directions for the development of new quality productivity. Sinopec will give full play to its own advantages, focus on green and low-carbon development, application scenario building and other core tasks, in the basic solid chain, technology supplement chain, integration of strong chain, optimization of plastic chain, accelerate the high-quality development of China's hydrogen energy industry.

in November 2024, in the Chinese corner of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Ma Yongsheng made a statement in combination with the global energy transformation trend. the global investment in clean hydrogen energy projects has increased seven times. hydrogen energy is an important "energy connector". accelerating the development of hydrogen energy industry is a strategic choice to move towards net zero emissions. strengthening hydrogen energy industry cooperation is the key direction to deepen international energy cooperation and ensure global energy security.

As the current helmsman of Sinopec, since taking office in June 2025, Hou Qijun has comprehensively inherited the previous strategic deployment, combined with the new situation at the beginning of the" 15th Five-Year Plan ", Continue to strengthen the construction of" China's No. 1 Hydrogen Energy Company "and promote the acceleration and upgrading of the hydrogen energy industry.

at the 2025 annual performance presentation meeting, Hou qijun once again reiterated the core strategy: "the company will accelerate the development of hydrogen energy industry as an important business of new energy, and firmly establish the goal of" china's first hydrogen energy company." This statement not only reflects the continuation of the hydrogen energy strategy of the previous two chairmen, but also demonstrates its firm determination to promote the high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry in the first year of the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan", and for the company's subsequent hydrogen energy layout. Set a clear direction.

Looking back on this course, Sinopec's hydrogen energy strategy presents a clear line of inheritance and development: from Zhang Yuzhuo's strategic breakthrough and framework building, to Ma Yongsheng's crucial landing and large-scale promotion, to Hou Qijun's deepening efforts and anchoring a new journey.

running through the core of the three leaders is a valuable "strategic determination". It is this determination to anchor targets for the long term without short-term fluctuations that has driven Sinopec's steady transformation from a traditional energy supplier to an ecological leader and "chain length" in China's hydrogen energy industry ".

The transformation path of this giant is not only related to its own future, but also has become a key sample for observing the transformation of China's energy structure and the development of strategic emerging industries.