The Ministry of Economy of Russia proposes to create a "Hydrogen Valley" on Sakhalin
The Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation proposes to create a special economic zone "Hydrogen Valley" on Sakhalin with the provision of its participants with a special tax regime and a free customs zone regime, follows from the draft "road map" to increase the export potential of the Russian hydrogen energy, prepared by the department. The document also proposes the possibility of using the excess capacity of the nuclear power plant for hydrogen production with electricity offtake at cost.
The first resident of the tax haven may be Rosatom, which plans to start producing up to 100 thousand tons of hydrogen per year on Sakhalin, installing modernized floating nuclear power units there. According to analysts, this will require the construction of 450-550 MW of nuclear power, which can cost up to 200 billion rubles. Rusatom Overseas (a structure of Rosatom that promotes Russian nuclear technologies abroad) and the French Air Liquide (a producer of industrial gases) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Sakhalin authorities.
Hydrogen production on Sakhalin opens up opportunities for its export to Japan. Rusatom Overseas already announced in 2019 the preparation of a feasibility study for the export of hydrogen to Japan with its transportation by sea. Then the company clarified that it is considering the possibility of producing hydrogen for the Japanese market by electrolysis.
Like reported , a study by strategic consultant PwC argues that countries with strong renewable energy potential are becoming potential exporters of green hydrogen, while industrialized countries such as Germany or Japan are are more likely to become its largest importers.