Priority Themes
Innovative technologies play a critical role in our quest for carbon neutrality before 2050. In 2022, electricity generation was Hong Kong's largest source of carbon emissions (63%), followed by transport (19%) and waste (8%). Therefore, our decarbonisation efforts would focus on these three key areas. We welcome and encourage R&D institutes and local companies to apply for the GTF to develop low-carbon technologies with high application and commercialisation potential that cater for the specific needs of Hong Kong's environment and market, the technologies to be developed should be specific to Hong Kong's circumstances and challenges and can demonstrate clear prospect for commercialisation/ application in local context. Projects that can support Government’s policy objectives in the areas of Net-zero Electricity Generation, Energy Saving and Green Buildings, Green Transport and Waste Reduction will be given priority.
Themes
Targets in Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050
Renewable Energy
- Increase the share of renewable energy (RE) in the fuel mix for electricity generation.
- Promote the development of RE.
Description of Projects
- Technology that can enhance application potential of renewable energy (RE) in Hong Kong.
- Development of Power-to-X technology to store or convert RE or surplus electric power to fuels (e.g. converting surplus electricity to hydrogen, methane and ammonia, etc.) for application in Hong Kong.
- Projects that can help Hong Kong develop into a demonstration platform for the application of green and low-carbon energy, including green hydrogen.
- Energy storage technology by solid state batteries, flow batteries, etc., that can be practically applied in Hong Kong, such as for electricity generation at construction sites.
Targets in Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050
Electricity Saving in Buildings
- Reduce the electricity consumption of commercial buildings by 15% to 20% and that of the residential buildings by 10% to 15% from the 2015 level by 2035.
- Reduce the electricity consumption of commercial buildings by 30% to 40% and that of the residential buildings by 20% to 30% from the 2015 level by 2050.
Description of Projects
- Projects that can demonstrate and apply technologies to enhance energy efficiency of buildings in Hong Kong, including development of innovative energy-saving technologies to further improve the energy performance of buildings and cooling systems, use of big data and artificial intelligence to optimise and improve the energy performance of buildings, etc.
Targets in Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050
Electric Private Cars
- Cease the new registration of fuel-propelled and hybrid private cars by 2035 or earlier.
New Energy Transport
- Promote adoption and trial of new energy transport including Non-Road Mechanical Machinery (NRMM).
Description of Projects
- Projects that can facilitate wide adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and other electric and new energy transports, including public transport and commercial vehicles in Hong Kong, thereby supporting the popularisation of green transport.
- Development of smart solutions to EV charging infrastructure, so as to promote the rapid expansion of the charging network effectively to support Hong Kong’s transition to EVs, including overcoming the constraints on electricity supply and space encountered during installation of charging facilities, and introducing effective peak load demand management and innovative charging provisions, etc.
- Projects that can help Hong Kong develop into a demonstration platform for the application of new energy transport, including new energy NRMM for use in construction sites, airports and ports, etc.
Targets in Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050
Enhance Waste Reduction and Recycling
- Reduce the per capita disposal rate of municipal solid waste (MSW) by 40 – 45% and increase the recovery rate to about 55%. Major waste types include food waste, waste plastics, waste paper, glass waste, waste electrical and electronic equipment and yard waste.
- Encourage waste reduction and recycling, and strengthen community facilities and support.
Food waste
- Develop adequate facilities by mid-2030s to handle the amount of food waste expected to be collected for transforming into energy or resources.
Disposable Plastic Products and Other Products proposed to be regulated under Producer Responsibility Schemes
- Extend the recovery and recycling schemes to different types of products from 2025, including plastic beverage containers, beverage cartons, electric vehicle batteries, vehicle tyres and lead-acid batteries.
Waste to Energy
- Develop adequate waste-to-energy facilities by 2035.
Description of Projects
- Projects that can be practically applied in Hong Kong for enhancing efficiency of waste reduction and recycling as well as resources circulation, such as technology that can promote waste-to-resources and upcycling of recyclables into high value-added products.
- Projects that can support the implementation of regulation of disposable plastic products and other products under Producer Responsibility Schemes (PRS), such as technology that can provide alternatives to disposable plastic products and projects that can enhance efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the recovery and recycling of products under PRS.
- Projects that can enhance community participation in clean recycling of food waste and other recyclables by assisting the general public with waste sorting and providing suitable outlets for recyclables, such as the development of technology that can enhance automation and address space constraints of on-site facilities. Projects that can enhance waste collection and recycling network, supported by smart technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) for predicting and evaluating the effectiveness of community recycling support measures through the use of big data, Intellect of Things (IoT) robotics, and unmanned aerial vehicle remote sensing application, etc.
- Projects that can demonstrate and apply cost-effective waste-to-energy technologies in Hong Kong, such as promoting the use of municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash (IBA) and fly ash (FA) to support the development of Integrated Waste Management Facilities in Hong Kong.