SHANGHAI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese provinces in the east will speed up the application of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, said a new regional plan launched Friday.

The plan outlines steps from this year to 2030 to develop hydrogen fuel infrastructure and service in the Yangtze River Delta, said Wang Ju, deputy secretary-general of the Society of Automotive Engineers of China (SAE-China), which drew up the plan under the guidance of the Yangtze River Delta Regional Cooperation Office.

Twenty highways will install hydrogen filling facilities and over 500 hydrogen filling stations will be built across the region by the end of 2030.

As a leading region in the development of hydrogen energy, the Yangtze River Delta region has 6 hydrogen filling stations and 17 in the pipeline.

A total of 636 logistics vehicles and 24 buses using hydrogen fuel are in operation in cities including Shanghai, Rugao and Zhangjiagang.

The region-wide plan will eliminate local barriers for the development of hydrogen energy and make inter-city transit easier, said Wang at a forum in Shanghai.

The Yangtze River Delta encompasses 26 cities in east China.