Russia invites Saudi Arabia to participate in hydrogen energy production

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday that Moscow has offered to work with Riyadh in the sphere of hydrogen energy production.

Russia is planning to increase its share in the global hydrogen market by 20% by 2030, and to increase annual exports of the fuel to 33.4 million tons by 2050. The country's vast natural gas reserves and renewables potential could make it one of the world's largest hydrogen producers within decades. Saudi Arabia also has ambitious plans to develop and export ‘green’ and ‘blue’ hydrogen.

Hydrogen is produced mainly from steam reforming natural gas. It can be used in fuel cells to generate electricity, or power and heat. Hydrogen is most commonly used in petroleum refining and fertilizer production.

Last year, the Russian government included hydrogen energy in its broad energy strategy. It is planning to export 200,000 tons of hydrogen by 2024.

In December, Novak said that the Russian Energy Ministry had signed a long-term agreement on hydrogen energy cooperation with German partners. In 2019, Russia’s Rosatom and Japan’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy agreed to transport hydrogen supplies from Russia to Japan.

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