Assessment of the current state of hydrogen energy in Russia

Abstract

Despite the great uncertainty in the timing that analysts indicate in their forecasts, the transition to a new energy system is inevitable. This transition does not mean an instant and complete abandonment of hydrocarbon energy, but its gradual replacement with energy sources that do not pollute the environment during operation, with a low «carbon footprint». And the role of hydrogen energy in this process is significant. The purpose of the article is to review and assess the current state of hydrogen energy in Russia, in particular on solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technologies. The article contains references from strategic and long-term planning documents in the field of energy, indicating the main directions of development of hydrogen energy in the Russian Federation; hydrogen energy technologies, including fuel cell technologies (FC): general characteristics, scope of their application, five main types of FC, and in more detail - the general characteristics and scope of SOFC as the most promising from the point of view of practical application and the level of technological development. The monitoring of publication activity on the subject of the SOFC was carried out, the methodology of which is based on the use of advanced search tools of the international scientific citation systems Web of Science and Scopus by keywords. The dynamics of the publication activity of scientists who conducted research on the subject of SOFC for the period 1990-2020 is presented; monitoring of the publication activity of 10 world leaders in scientific research in the field of SOFC for the period 2010-2020 and separately – the rating of Russian scientific organizations for the period 1990-2020. The results of the research of foreign scientists involved in this topic within the framework of megagrant projects, as well as the results of competitive selections within the framework of state support for young Russian scientists (grants and scholarships of the President of the Russian Federation) are analyzed.