In the early autumn of 2026, the hydrogen refueling comprehensive energy island in Xiaoyi City, Lvliang, is bustling with activity. Hydrogen-powered heavy trucks loaded with goods are being refueled, and within about fifteen minutes, they will travel along a zero-carbon corridor to Tianjin Port, located 760 kilometers away. These heavy trucks "consume" hydrogen and "emit" only clean water, serving as the most direct illustration of Lvliang's energy transition.
As the nation's only comprehensive reform pilot zone for energy revolution, Shanxi is pushing forward with unprecedented intensity in its transformation from a "coal province" to an "energy powerhouse." During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, Shanxi has set an overall goal of accelerating the construction of a new energy system, strengthening the development and consumption of wind and solar power, promoting the complementary development of multiple energy sources such as hydrogen and biomass, and speeding up the integrated layout of hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol. The rise of hydrogen energy in Lvliang is the most vivid practice of this energy transformation at the grassroots level.
Where the journey begins
Lvliang is the largest centralized coking production area in the country. During the coke production process, a large amount of coke oven gas is produced as a byproduct, in which hydrogen accounts for approximately 55%. In the past, this tail gas was often burned and emitted directly, but now it has become a valuable "hydrogen source." Relying on this resource endowment, Lvliang did not start from scratch but chose a pragmatic path of "starting with grey hydrogen and following up with green hydrogen." At present, Lvliang's hydrogen production capacity has reached 135,000 tonnes, ranking first in the province, with the price of purified industrial by-product hydrogen around 8 yuan per kilogram, providing a solid foundation for large-scale promotion.
While consolidating the foundation of industrial by-product hydrogen, Lvliang is also extending its reach toward "green hydrogen." The 3MW green electricity off-grid hydrogen production and refueling integrated demonstration project in the Lvliang Economic Development Zone has been completed and put into operation, and areas rich in wind and solar resources such as Lan County and Xing County are also planning green electricity hydrogen production projects, exploring a pattern of "thermal, wind, solar, hydrogen, and storage" complementarity.
A breakthrough in application
The breakthrough in "application" is the biggest highlight of Lvliang's hydrogen energy industry. As a major energy logistics city, Lvliang has enormous short-haul transportation demands for bulk commodities such as coal, coke, and aluminum, providing a natural application scenario for hydrogen-powered heavy trucks. By early 2026, the number of hydrogen-powered heavy trucks in Lvliang had simultaneously exceeded 1,000 in both ownership and operation. These trucks are operating steadily on the zero-carbon corridor stretching more than 1,500 kilometers from Lvliang to Tianjin Port, with a total driving mileage exceeding 80 million kilometers, making Lvliang the first in the country to form a purely commercially operated hydrogen heavy truck demonstration scenario.
To support large-scale application, the city has completed the construction of 14 hydrogen refueling stations, accounting for half of the province's total. An assembly production line with an annual output of 6,000 hydrogen commercial vehicles has also been put into operation, and a full industry chain covering hydrogen production, storage and transportation, refueling, and complete vehicle manufacturing is taking shape.
Why hydrogen matters beyond trucks
Across Shanxi, an unconventional energy revolution that promotes both "gas" and "hydrogen" is accelerating. The province's proven coalbed methane reserves are approximately 0.97 trillion cubic meters, with 2025 production reaching 14.7 billion cubic meters, accounting for more than 80% of the national total during the same period. Zhuangshang Village in Yuncheng City has built the country's first "China Zero-Carbon Village Demonstration Village," and application scenarios such as highway slope photovoltaics and zero-carbon parks continue to expand. Shanxi is using coalbed methane and hydrogen as its two main drivers to accelerate the cultivation of a new 100-billion-yuan growth pole in the energy sector.
In March 2025, Lvliang successfully joined the national fuel cell vehicle demonstration city cluster, becoming the only city in Shanxi to do so. From "coal capital" to "hydrogen port," Lvliang's "light" transformation is not only a self-renewal of this resource-based city but also a green answer sheet delivered by Shanxi, as the national comprehensive reform pilot for energy revolution, in taking the lead on the "carbon" path.