Shell sets up venture to build Shanghai hydrogen refuelling network

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Shell said on Friday it will set up a joint venture with China's Shenergy Group to build a hydrogen refuelling network in Shanghai, the first of its kind for the European energy major in Asia.

The joint venture plans to build six to 10 hydrogen refuelling stations in Shanghai and the surrounding Yangzte River Delta in the next five years and up to 30 stations by 2030.

These 30 stations could supply hydrogen fuel to about 3,000 trucks or buses every day, Shell said in a statement.

The new entity will source low-emission industrial by-product hydrogen from the local chemical plants in the near term and seek to produce and supply green hydrogen - sourced from renewables like solar and wind power - in the long run, Shell added.

The Shanghai municipal government hub announced in May that the Chinese financial hub targets 70 hydrogen refuelling stations and more than 10,000 fuel cell vehicles by 2025.

State-owned Shenergy Group is the leading distributor of power and natural gas in Shanghai.

(Reporting by Chen Aizhu; editing by Barbara Lewis)