The 12,000 sq. m. facility in Jiaxing produces the firm’s Type 4 glass fibre pressure gas cylinders, which are used for multi-element gas containers (MEGCs) to transport and store hydrogen.

It has the capacity to make up to 20,000 cylinders, trebling the firm’s global production capacity.

UAC said the plant will support projects like Hiringa Energy and Sundown Pastoral’s 4,500-tonne green ammonia project in New South Wales, Australia, to supply fertilisers for cotton growing.

The firm will supply two 20 ft. and three 40 ft. units to the project, following on from MEGC deployments at Hiringa hydrogen refuelling stations in New Zealand.

However, the company will not initially supply cylinders to the Chinese domestic market. UAC said it is pursuing a “special permit to enable domestic market distribution.”

UAC CEO Lars Erik Lunøe said the Chinese plant would allow the company to deliver more units at a “competitive cost.”

The company joins other European cylinder makers in setting up Chinese production. Last month, Norway’s Hexagon Purus began MEGC production in China through its joint venture with Chinese engineering firm CIMC Enric.

French technology firm also grabbed a €40m ($47m) capital increase for a hydrogen-focused subsidiary in China, while German automotive firm Schaeffler said it was placing its fuel cell component bet on the People’s Republic.

China is dramatically outpacing markets like Europe, using state-backed incentives and policy schemes, as well as low-cost supply chains to ramp up technology manufacturing and green hydrogen production.