WUHAN — Hydrogen technology research and development in China and Britain are complementary and both sides can collaborate to achieve more in this field, according to scientists at a seminar held in China’s Wuhan.

Carbon neutral hydrogen technologies play a significant role in preventing climate change and realizing development and stainability goals. Scientists in China and Britain have long been devoted to the field in order to address industrial and environmental challenges.

“Scientists in the two countries have got support from both China and the UK governments to develop hydrogen-related technologies,” said Tan Bi’en, professor with Huazhong University of Science and Technology, on March 15 in Wuhan, capital of Central China’s Hubei province.

Tan, who mainly focuses on technologies used in hydrogen-powered vehicles, called for more cooperation between research groups in China and Britain. “For example, our group is good at hydrogen storage technologies, while the fellows in the UK are strong in water splitting technologies. By combining our efforts together, we can promote our hydrogen technologies in real applications,” he said.

“The collaborations between China and the UK are based on complementary skills,” said Tony Roskilly, a professor with Newcastle University.

“A lot of expertise has been developed in the UK in terms of the utilization of hydrogen. Here a lot of colleagues are working at the storage of hydrogen. They are different technologies,” Roskilly said. “There are a lot of complementary activities we can all benefit from and make a big difference.”

Wuhan is a pioneer in the hydrogen industry in China. According to the city’s plan, it will advance research and development of core technology of hydrogen production, storage and transport, and improve hydrogen infrastructure in the coming years.

It aims to reap more than 100 billion yuan ($15.8 billion) of industrial output in the hydrogen cells industry by 2025.