Alexander Ishkov, head of Gazprom’s Energy Saving and Ecology Department, told the German-Russian Raw Materials Forum that the company intended to build a large plant to produce hydrogen from methane in Germany near the exit of the  branches of pipelines Nordstream 1 and 2.

    “The carbon footprint will be 1.2-1.6 kg of CO2 per kg of hydrogen – that makes it three times less than the criteria for low-carbon hydrogen in the European Union,” Ishkov told the meeting.

    Another pilot project under consideration would involve supplies of hydrogen by pipeline from Russia to Europe with the possibility of shipments in reverse from the EU to Russia of carbon dioxide for use or storage.

    “I don’t believe anyone has yet discussed this project. We have analyses and assessments of a possible reverse flow or return transport of CO2 to Russia along with producing hydrogen through traditional inexpensive systems, like methane conversion. The CO2, with existing infrastructure, can be sent back to Russia to be stored or for reprocessing,” Ishkov said.

    “This project has not been worked out definitively but at this preliminary stage it can be said that it could provide cheaper low-carbon hydrogen for the European Union without construction of huge infrastructure through, shall we say, electrolysis or renewable sources.”

    Gazprom is to create a subsidiary company, Gazprom Hydrogen, for development of hydrogen projects.  The company is to work on technology for low-carbon storage, transport and use of methane-hydrogen mixtures and also sales abroad  of hydrogen and methane-hydrogen mixtures.

    Gazprom currently produces 360,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year at its sites.

    “And as of right now, we could supply up to 10,000 tonnes of hydrogen to potential buyers from next year,” Ishkov said. “But on condition that such a buyer has the technology for transport in one or another form up to the point it is consumed. For the moment there is no such infrastructure for liquid, balloon or adsorbed forms.”