Russian gas firm Novatek has signed a memorandum of understanding to supply German utility RWE with low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia.

The fuel would be produced at the firm’s planned Obsky project in Russia’s Yamal region and delivered to RWE and its customers in Germany and other European markets.

Novatek decided earlier this year to reconfigure Obsky—originally designed to produce LNG—to produce ammonia, hydrogen and methanol, and is conducting a pre-Feed study.

Steam methane reforming and carbon capture, utilisation and storage technologies can be retrofitted to LNG facilities to enable blue hydrogen and ammonia production.

Novatek is already working with services company Baker Hughes to blend hydrogen into its natural gas liquefaction facilities, according to Lev Feodosyev, deputy chairman of the firm’s management board.

“We are working on decreasing the already low carbon footprint of LNG produced by our projects in the Russian Arctic,” he says.

Novatek signed a deal with German utility Uniper to develop its hydrogen value chain earlier in the year.

“We are working on decreasing the already low carbon footprint of LNG” Feodosyev, Novatek

Novatek is Russia’s largest independent gas producer. Its three-train Yamal LNG project, on the Siberian coast, shipped its first cargo in 2017 and has operated at capacity since 2018.

RWE wants to secure supplies of hydrogen to help decarbonise its power generation portfolio, according to Javier Moret, global head of LNG at RWE Supply & Trading.

“We are very pleased to be working with Novatek to evaluate possibilities to supply Europe with large quantities of blue and green hydrogen,” he says.

RWE is to invest €50bn ($56.4bn) through to 2030 to expand its low-carbon generation portfolio. The firm will create a new trading arm to import hydrogen and ammonia for itself and other European companies.

The partners also intend to extend their cooperation in supply of LNG, including possible carbon-neutral cargoes.

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Author: Tom Young