The first hydrogen-electric hybrid vehicle in Shanxi－a blue and white bus－rolled off the production line of Dezhi Times New Energy Vehicle Corp in Taiyuan on Aug 8. The occasion marked the moment when the province entered the "hydrogen era" of automobile manufacturing, according to company executives.

To support the operation of the new energy vehicles, four hydrogen filling stations will be built in the city, according to local officials. The facilities can collectively fuel 50 vehicles at the same time.

With zero emissions and high efficiency, hydrogen fuel represents a breakthrough in new energy development for vehicles. Using its local hydrogen resources converted from coke and coal-bed methane, Shanxi is planning to step up the development of hydrogen-powered vehicles, according to local officials and industry insiders.

Yu Zhiyuan, general manager of Dezhi Times, said the prominent advantage of hydrogen-electric hybrid vehicles is the brief refueling time. The charging time for a pure electric vehicle is much longer.

"It take less than 10 minutes to fully fill a hydrogen-electric hybrid vehicle, which enables the vehicle to run about 320 kilometers," Yu said.

The executive said the company is also developing a new-generation hydrogen-combustion engine, which is expected to increase power output by 25 percent.

Yu noted that the success of the new vehicle development is a result of the company's strength in research and development.

He said the company has nearly 200 people engaged in R&D, led by three top scientists from the Chinese Academy of Engineering and overseas academies, as well as dozens of other leading experts.

"In addition to the one in Taiyuan, we also have R&D facilities in Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou in Jiangsu province and Shenzhen in Guangdong province to make use of the technological resources in these cities," Yu said.

New energy development is a part of the Shanxi strategy to diversify its economy and reduce its reliance on coal, according to Li Dezhi, board chairman and founder of the company.

"Shanxi is promoting a revolutionary transformation of its energy industry. The development of hydrogen as vehicular fuel is a new breakthrough," Li said.

He said the hydrogen is converted from coal-bed methane and gas produced in the coking process.

"Coal-bed gas and coke gas used to be lesser-used byproducts of the coal industry. Hydrogen development is an innovative inheritance of the traditional industry by improving the coal's utilization efficiency," Li noted.

He said his company has an annual production capacity of 10,000 large and medium-sized hydrogen-electric hybrid buses as well as 30,000 other special vehicles.

"We are planning to expand our industrial chain to cover such fields as hydrogen storage, transportation and filling, in addition to vehicle production," Li added.

Guo Yanjie contributed to this story.