China’s state oil and gas major Sinopec has established a venture capital fund focused on hydrogen energy, with an initial size of five billion yuan, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

The fund, the largest in China dedicated to investment across the hydrogen value chain, will target early-stage investments and incubation of key materials, core equipment and proprietary technologies with high growth potential.

The fund is managed by Sinopec Private Equity Fund Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinopec Capital.

External partners include Shandong New Growth Drivers Fund Management and Yantai Guofeng Investment Holding Group.

Sinopec has also taken equity stakes in 13 companies involved in the hydrogen energy industry chain and has built 11 hydrogen supply centres for fuel cells and 144 hydrogen refueling stations across China. (Reuters)