Rosatom, Rusnano and Gazprombank divisions form hydrogen energy association
MOSCOW. Feb 21 (Interfax) - Divisions of state corporations Rosatom and Rosnano and Gazprombank have established the National Association for Development of Hydrogen Energy (National Hydrogen Association).
The new organization was registered on February 16, information from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities showed.
It is headed by Denis Deryushkin, who previously served as deputy CEO of the Energy Ministry's Russian Energy Agency. Since the beginning of the year he "continues to support the resolution of problems in the interests of the Energy Ministry in a new status outside the REA," the agency said. Last year he also served as a fuel and energy sector analyst.
The hydrogen association is registered at the same address as Rosatom's headquarters, and its email is the same as that of Rusatom Overseas.
The association's founders are Rusatom Overseas, Rusnano startup studio TechnoSpark (part of the investment network of Rusnano's Infrastructure and Education Programs Fund), and Gazprombank-Development's H2 Invest, the companies told Interfax.
"The association's activities are aimed at combining the efforts of business and science for the development a new sector - hydrogen energy in Russia, coordinating the efforts of market participants, assisting in the implementation of the National Hydrogen Program, and preparing proposals for standards for support of the sector with government agencies. The association will also facilitate cooperation and sharing of experience with international organizations and manufacturers of hydrogen technologies and hydrogen infrastructure," Rusatom Overseas said.
The association is expected to bring together companies, consumers, financial institutions and research organizations.
Rusnano's Infrastructure and Education Programs Fund told Interfax that "several startups in the area of hydrogen infrastructure and fuel cell power generators are growing" at TechnoSpark.
"There is still much to do in this new industry for the country, from measures of state support to the regulatory framework. We did this in solar, then in wind and now it's hydrogen's turn. We will solve these problems together with the leading players, who are creating the National Association for Development of Hydrogen Energy," the fund said.
H2 Invest said it works with high-tech assets in hydrogen energy and its key project is to set up mass production of 40-foot tank containers for shipping liquid hydrogen based on the special project company H2Tech set up in 2022.
The cost of such hydrogen logistics is almost 50% lower than alternative means of transport, the geographical reach of shipments is "significantly broader," and this option also provides long-term storage for hydrogen, with the tank containers able to be used as a storage system at the location of the end consumer, H2 Invest said, citing CEO Anton Kovalevsky.