Stocks in China's fuel cell industry have been soaring since the beginning of this year as the Chinese government's continued support for the industry significantly boosts investors' confidence, the Securities Times reported Wednesday.
According to the Hong Kong-based financial data provider Wind, the share price index for the industry has increased by 15.96 percent since early January with the largest single-day increase hitting 22 percent.
Analysts believe that with the substantial government subsidies expected to continue over the next few years, China's fuel cell industry will enter a stage of rapid growth in 2019.
On one hand, the government subsidies for the country's lithium battery industry are scheduled to be phased out by 2020. On the other hand, the maximum subsidies for the fuel cell industry will remain unchanged at 200,000 yuan (29,588 U.S. dollars) per fuel cell passenger car, 300,000 yuan (44,383 U.S. dollars) per light-duty bus and 500,000 yuan (73，971 U.S. dollars) per medium or heavy-duty truck in five or so years.
With the firm government support, Chinese fuel cell companies have also been propelling their global expansion in recent years.
Back in May 2018, Chinese electric car giant BYD announced its cooperation with an American fuel cell manufacturer US Hybrid for the development of hydrogen fuel cell shuttle buses, which are planned to serve the bustling Honolulu International Airport (IATA) in the future.
Three months later, Chinese engine manufacturer Weichai became the largest shareholder of the Canadian fuel cell champion Ballard Power System by obtaining 19.9 percent ownership of the latter in a 164 million U.S dollar deal.
Analysts from China's top securities firm Citic Securities predict that with such a growth momentum, the market value of China's fuel cell industry will exceed a trillion yuan (147.95 billion U.S. dollars) during the next ten years.
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