On October 2, during the convention program of St. Petersburg Gas Forum the round-table discussion Hydrogen, a paradigm shift in the energy sector, the future? took place, arranged by the Energy Delta Institute (Netherlands). The panel discussion was moderated by Marcel Kramer, President of Energy Delta Institute.

The panel discussion were participated by industrial experts – Alexander Ishkov (Gazprom), René Schutte (N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie), as well as representatives of the academic society – Theo Fens (Delft University of Technology, Netherlands), Yuri Melnikov (Skolkovo Energy Centre), and Yulia Drygina (Foundation of Innovative Entrepreneurship Development for Russia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry).

At the round-table discussion, the experts considered the place of hydrogen in the energy system of the future, conducted comparative analysis of technology and economics of hydrogen production, shared opinions on prospects of hydrogen production by electrolysis, as well as natural-gas-based, and concluded that the most prospective technologies will be the ones facilitating sufficient industrial scale at minimal costs and with minimal CO2 atmospheric emissions.

The recent ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Changes by Russia didn’t go unnoticed by experts and caused a spirited debate on prospects of hydrogen economy in Russia.

The round-table discussion was in particular participated by representatives of KAMAZ PJSC, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus LLC, Uniper SE, Boskalis NV, Energomashkomplet JSC, Moscow Gas Processing Plant JSC, GasTerra BV, Gazprom, as well as of research and development institutions.