The Search for Natural Hydrogen in Russia: State of the Problem and Possible Starting Solutions

Up until the time of the decision of Rosstandart Order no. 490-st of July 7, 2023, to include hydrogen in the All-Russia Classifier of Mineral Resources, no geological or economic possibilities of the industrial development of hydrogen resources had been analyzed in Russia. Moreover, hydrogen, extracted from the earth, has been studied extremely poorly. The current situation requires the accelerated development of the concept of searching for hydrogen on the basis of scientific substantiation of the most promising regional areas. In this work, our vision of this problem and propose possible solutions are provided. In particular, the reasons for organizing scientific and technological hydrogen sites are assessed, including (i) the development of theoretical ideas about a role of hydrogen in the evolution of the Earth; (ii) working out in detail the mechanisms of hydrogen localization in the geological setting; (iii) the development of criteria and methods for geological and economic assessment of hydrogen search, exploration and production; and (iv) geological and commercial research at the most promising sites for the development and testing of the methods to search for occurrences of hydrogen and related minerals.