About the project

Today, as traditional deposits are depleted, the search for new fuel sources becomes more urgent. The aggravation of environmental problems around the world forces developed countries to be prepared to pay more for clean energy. Therefore, technologies like solar power, wind power, etc. are developing at a rapid pace. But so far, their share of global energy production is extremely small. And the problem already requires a solution today, in the very near future.

Hydrogen is our future

Experts have long called hydrogen a promising substitute for traditional oil and natural gas. When burning, this gas emits no harmful air emissions, does not contribute to the greenhouse effect, and does not affect climate change. The product from combusting this substance is plain water.

Hydrogen

However, there are big problems related to producing hydrogen as a fuel. This gas is not found in nature in the form of deposits. Despite hydrogen being one of the most abundant chemical elements on Earth, there is no source from which it can be produced in its pure form.

But hydrogen is part of chemical compounds which are more than feasible to produce. The most widely known example is water. Others include, for example, natural gas and hydrogen sulfide.

Depths Energy JSC specifically selected the latter as a raw material source for producing hydrogen as a fuel.

Why hydrogen sulfide?

The fact is that the process of extracting hydrogen from compounds with other elements is highly energy intensive, which impacts the product’s final cost and makes hydrogen fuel production economically disadvantageous. But the latest developments by Russian scientists in experiments with hydrogen sulfide have significantly simplified the process of hydrogen extraction from this compound by using catalysts. Now hydrogen can be produced with minimal energy consumption.

The company chose the bottom sediments of this substance in the Black Sea as a source of natural hydrogen sulfide. And there is a reason for it. This reservoir is one of the world’s largest storehouses of toxic hydrogen sulfide. The Black Sea is estimated to contain 4.6 billion tons. At the same time, ecologists have long been concerned that due to climate change processes, the hydrogen sulfide contained at the bottom may rise to the surface. Therefore, the project is also aimed at preserving the Black Sea environment in addition to extracting clean fuel.

Black sea

The experiments and subsequent production will be unique within the global practice. The company plans to conduct a study of the Black Sea depths and to prove from its own experience that hydrogen sulfide can be a raw material base for hydrogen energy in Russia and around the world.

“We understand that our project is not a one-day effort. This is a long-term experiment that involves developing the necessary infrastructure and production. In fact, it will all be done from scratch; no company in the world has ever implemented anything like this,” said Tamerlan Shidov, the company’s founder.