Russian deputy energy minister Pavel Sorokin said last week the development of hydrogen - particularly hydrogen produced by renewables - is costly and complex. The outlook, however, may improve in the next decade, Kallanish understands.

Speaking at an industry event, he said that “there are no technologies at the moment that could competitively convert various sources of hydrogen into a commercial product, but this high cost is a temporary factor, provided that sufficient efforts are made in this direction.”

Sorokin claims hydrogen produced from natural gas, ready for transportation, cost around $1-2 per kg, which is “significantly lower than green hydrogen, costing between $6-12/kg depending on production method.” However, the official adds that “within 5-10 years we expect that technology will improve and the production cost will decline.”

Another major problem is the transportation of hydrogen, says Sorokin. “These are the issues that both Russian scientists and scientists around the world are working on, a large amount of funds are being directed to them.”

He believes the existing pipeline transport can also be used for hydrogen transport and special gas carriers that can carry hydrogen. Such experiments have already been carried out and “there are certain successes, but so far the cost of these methods is quite high.”

Last week, a seven cross-industry group vowed to halve the costs of green hydrogen to below $2/kg through a 50-fold scale-up by 2026. The so-called Green Hydrogen Catapult initiative, includes Spain’s Iberdrola, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and Italy’s Snam.

According to IHS Markit, clean hydrogen production costs have dropped by 40% since 2015 and could fall by another 40% through 2025. The firm estimates current global electrolysis capacity at 82 megawatts.