Energy security in China: Fuel cell vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles and policy responses to oil imports

Abstract

In 1993, China lost its position as net oil exporter due to its rapid economic growth. Having been selfreliant in oil for thirty years, this came as a shock to the Chinese government, that traditionally perceived oil import dependency as the greatest threat to China’s energy security. Realizing that China did not have enough domestic oil reserves to reverse this situation, the Chinese government embarked on an ambitious quest to replace all petrol-driven vehicles with plug-in electric vehicles. Nowadays, China is spearheading this global transition and there is little disagreement among scholars that plug-in electric vehicles are regarded by the Chinese government as China’s most important energy security strategy. However, the launch of various ambitious fuel cell vehicle policies alongside the government’s announcement to phase-out subsidies for plug-in electric vehicles have put this hypothesis into doubt. This research examines whether the Chinese government has come to regard fuel cell vehicles as the most potent solution to reduce China’s oil import dependency at the expense of plug-in electric vehicles.