(Yicai Global) June 10 -- China's southwestern megacity of Chongqing is ramping up its investment in fuel batteries in an effort to achieve production of 400,000 new energy vehicles per year running on the new technology.

Several hydrogen energy producers have already settled in the city's Liangjiang district, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a person in charge of the automobile industry of the district's management committee, who said Chongqing will build a hydrogen energy ecological chain with output value of CNY100 billion (USD14.5 billion).

Jiaxing, Zhejiang province-based D.R. Power will spend CNY1 billion to achieve an annual production of 3,000 sets of hydrogen fuel cell engines and core components, with a projected value of CNY2.5 billion, the official explained.

Fuzhou, Fujian province-based Snowman has laid out CNY4.55 billion to attain production capacity of 100,000 sets of hydrogen fuel cell core components with an annual output exceeding CNY10 billion, according to the same source.

The 'fuel' for hydrogen fuel cell batteries is hydrogen and oxygen, and its by-product is water, generates no emissions and has thus become a key pollution-free technical avenue for new energy vehicles.

Chongqing is endowed with rich natural gas and shale gas reserves that will provide a resource basis for the hydrogen energy sector, an industry analyst said.

Editor: Ben Armour