Novatek Signs MoU with Severstal on Hydrogen + CCS Project

Novatek, Russia’s biggest manufacturer of natural gas has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Severstal, a mining and metallurgical exploration company to collaborate on a hydrogen project that will be integrated with a carbon capture and storage technology facility

Novatek’s steam-methane reforming facility in the Yamal Peninsula, Russia where the company is exploring producing hydrogen along with LPG. Credit: Novatek website

Novatek’s steam-methane reforming facility in the Yamal Peninsula, Russia where the company is exploring producing hydrogen along with LPG. Credit: Novatek website

Novatek, Russia’s biggest manufacturer of natural gas has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Severstal, a mining and metallurgical exploration company to collaborate on a hydrogen project that will be integrated with a carbon capture and storage technology facility.

The two companies have agreed to embark upon a joint pilot project that will manufacture blue hydrogen using natural gas. Since the plant will be attached with a carbon capture and storage facility, it is hoped that all emissions generated during the manufacturing process will be absorbed and stored permanently, enabling the production of net zero-carbon emission hydrogen.

Novatek and Severstal will work together to meet various technical requirements of the project such as engineering solutions for the manufacture and supply of hydrogen transport pipelines, turbines, storage facilities for hydrogen and also specially designed trucks for transporting hydrogen. The requirements will also extend to technical standards for the entire process, from manufacture to supply. In addition to the manufacturing and supply, Novatek and Severstal will also partner in developing technological solutions for how different fuel types based on hydrogen and its carriers, such as ammonia can be used in different sectors.

Leonid Mikhelson, Novatek’s Chairman of the Management Board marked the occasion by commenting: “Steel producers are one of the largest industrial consumers of natural gas, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a new prospective area for our mutually beneficial cooperation. The use of carbon capture and storage technologies, as well as a hydrogen fuel blend will reduce our joint carbon footprint and increase the competitiveness of products manufactured by the Russian steel industry.”

The MoU was signed during the Saint-Petersburg International Economic Forum. Novatek has been one among the leading natural gas producers in Russia to explore more sustainable alternatives to production and supply of energy. Earlier this year, Novatek announced that it was exploring steam-methane reforming facilities on the Yamal peninsula to produce hydrogen alongside existing LPG production. According to Mikhelson, hydrogen development will be accompanied by a carbon capture and storage project to enable the delivery of blue hydrogen that meets European standards for carbon dioxide emissions. Mikhelson stated that in the next 30-40 years, he expects hydrogen to stand for a large share in global energy consumption.

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