The initiative underscores the dominant view in Russia that its own future production of hydrogen will be predominantly reliant on natural gas. This would result predominantly in the production blue hydrogen which uses carbon capture and storage (CCS) rather than green hydrogen, where renewable energy is used to power the process of electrolysis that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The new working group includes the presidents and vice-presidents of leading Russian gas producers Gazprom and Novatek, and oil producers Rosneft and Gazprom Neft, as well as representatives of several other major Russian state-run corporations and related ministries.
Russia’s largest independent gas producer Novatek has been leading the efforts towards change, having signed several agreements earlier this year to consider CCS, ammonia production and wind-power generation at its liquefied natural gas projects on the Yamal Peninsula. Meanwhile, Rosneft and Gazprom Neft have repeatedly stressed that they are not newcomers to hydrogen, as it has long been produced and used at their refineries typically the unabated “grey” hydrogen. This reflects the Russian view that the country should be ready to consider all possible ways of taking a larger share in future hydrogen markets in Europe and Asia as its exports of oil and gas to the continent start to decline.