China unveiled a major guideline to promote wider use of methanol-fueled vehicles after five years of trials on March 19, moving the world’s largest vehicle market a step forward in commercializing the new energy vehicle.
Industry insiders said the move is part of China’s broader efforts to relieve environmental pollution and reduce its dependency on imported petroleum as methanol, a clean fuel that can be made from abundant coal resources in China, is widely seen as an ideal alternative energy.
According to the guideline released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and seven other ministries, China will speed up the application of M100 methanol-fueled vehicles in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Gansu, Guizhou and other provinces. It also encouraged such vehicles to be used for government cars, taxis and short-distance buses.
The guideline pointed out as well that related authorities are considering involving methanol vehicles in the dual-credit policy, a policy requiring carmakers in China to produce a certain number of new energy vehicles to gain credits.
“With the coming of the top-level decision, methanol vehicles are able to hit the road finally after five-year of tests and trials. It will help methanol vehicles to develop in a sustainable and scientific manner,” said Jia Xinguang, executive director of the China Automobile Dealers Association.
From 2012 to 2017, the ministry has held trials of methanol vehicles in 10 cities across the country. In Southwest China’s Guizhou province, for instance, more than 5,000 methanol-fueled taxis and 13 methanol filling stations have been put into trial operation.
“In addition, the guideline is of significance to diversify the country’s fuel sources to reduce China’s dependency on importing petroleum as China has a huge demand for energy and is the world’s second-largest energy consuming country,” Jia noted.