Russia Plans to Emerge as a Major Exporter of Hydrogen

Recently Russian government approved the draft Hydrogen Development Plan which envisages Russia to become a major exporter of Hydrogen and start supplying around 12 million tonnes per year of Hydrogen till 2035. The country has been eager to capture a role for itself in the energy transition taking shape in Europe and Asia. 

As per the development plan, the Hydrogen production will be scaled up in three stages. The first stage which spans from 2021 to 2024 will include establishment of pilot clusters for Hydrogen production and implementation of pilot projects to export up to 200,000 tonnes per year by 2024. 

Three hydrogen production clusters are expected to be set up as per the government’s policy regarding hydrogen. The three clusters are named as per their location. The first cluster is the Eastern cluster, second is the North-Western Cluster, and third is the Arctic Cluster. All the three clusters are being set up with different goals. 

The eastern cluster is being set up with an aim to cater to exports in the Asia Pacific region. The North-Western cluster is expected to specialize in Europe exports and for promoting carbon footprint reduction technologies for the companies which are export oriented. The Arctic cluster will play a role in providing power to domestic polar territories.

The second stage will be running from 2025 to 2035 and will include first commercial scale Hydrogen projects to come online. The stage will also be focusing on widespread adoption of Hydrogen technologies in various sectors of domestic economy. The last stage runs till 2050 and is expected to include significant upscaling of Russia’s Hydrogen Strategy. 

As per ChemAnalyst, “Hydrogen being the best option for a carbon neutral future is set to witness significant demand growth in the near future. Countries in Asia and Europe are taking steps towards catering to this demand growth and development of a Hydrogen economy. In a similar move countries in Asia including India and China are also taking steps towards increasing their Hydrogen production.”