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Hydrogen expanses: scientists create robots to explore the craters of the Moon and unique drones
At the first and only hydrogen test site in the Russian Federation, scientists are testing various developments and equipment for servicing hydrogen technology. The project will provide remote villages with green energy and create backup power supply systems for cell towers. The scientists plan to test hydrogen drones that can fly for more than six hours without recharging. It will also be possible to explore hydrogen installations for unmanned robots capable of exploring the shadow craters of the Moon. For more information about the projects of the Eastern Hydrogen Cluster and other developments in the region, see the Izvestia article.
The first hydrogen test site in the country
The base site of the Hydrogen Engineering Center with a test site is located on the territory of the Special Design Bureau of Marine Research Automation Equipment of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. This is the first and so far the only testing ground for hydrogen technologies in Russia. There is a solar power plant that supplies direct current to the electrolyzer. This is a device designed for electrolysis, where water is split under the action of current.
— A special membrane allows hydrogen to pass through. He goes into one compartment. And the oxygen that the membrane does not pass through goes into another one. In this way, we get very high purity hydrogen, and then we use it to generate electricity in other places. For example, in remote settlements," Andrey Gorbunov, director of the Autonomous Non—Profit Organization Vostochny Hydrogen Cluster Management Company, told Izvestia.
Andrey Gorbunov, Director of ANO Vostochny Hydrogen Cluster Management Company
Technologies for storing hydrogen and refueling hydrogen vehicles are being developed at the site. In 2024, prototypes of autonomous power supply (cell tower) and Ural car refueling were successfully tested at the landfill.
Scientists working at the landfill point out that they are working on not just individual pieces of equipment, but a single technological chain. The point is to bring proven innovations to industrial applications. Moreover, in the future, the project will be able to solve not only "terrestrial" tasks, but also space ones.
— Hydrogen energy elements do not freeze to -250 degrees. Classic moon rovers freeze when they enter the shadow. Therefore, their route is possible only in sunlit squares. On the moon, the craters are all in shadow, and no one has explored them. Because there is no such possibility yet," explained Andrey Gorbunov.
According to him, the creation of robotic mobile drones that will be able to explore the shadow side of the Moon and deep craters is just around the corner. To make an ideal power plant for them, one cylinder of hydrogen and oxygen must be placed in it. It will be able to produce electricity and will operate at low temperatures. However, there are still a number of issues that scientists have to solve. In particular, alloys or composite materials that can withstand extreme cold are needed.
Clean energy for remote villages
While testing of such devices at the test site is far away, specialists are solving other tasks. In particular, technologies for generating electricity using locally produced or compressed hydrogen are being developed near the village of Ogonki. The project is being implemented jointly with MIPT. Its goal is to replicate solutions at more than 400 sites in the Far East and the Arctic zone, including 32 sites on Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.
— This is the backup power supply of the cell tower. Today, there are small solar and wind power plants, as well as a diesel generator, which is in reserve. We are bringing our own unit of an electric generator with hydrogen cylinders there. And we are replacing the diesel power plant with this. In the future, we want to move away from diesel generation altogether, using hydrogen," said Andrey Gorbunov.
Hydrogen energy has a number of advantages over diesel fuel, including the absence of harmful emissions during use and high energy efficiency. This is especially important for Sakhalin, which is participating in the climate experiment, which started in 2022 and will end in 2028.
Another pilot project, Energy—insulated Residential Settlements, is focused on energy supply to remote settlements. In the village of Novikovo in the Korsakov Urban District of the Sakhalin Region, a scheme for using renewable energy sources and a hydrogen cycle is being tested, which will reduce the electricity tariff by 30-40%. The project is being implemented by PJSC Sakhalinenergo (part of the RusHydro Group) and MIPT. It is planned to scale the solutions to 180 sites in the regions of the Far East, including 35 in the Kamchatka Territory and more than 130 in Yakutia.
Another pilot project of the cluster is mobile equipment kits for supplying electricity to field camps. They will help to replace the diesel generation with hydrogen units, which will provide electricity to the tents, hospital and headquarters for two weeks.
— In addition, projects are currently under development to create cargo sea drones for shipping containers to supply the islands of the Sakhalin Region, — said Alexey Ognev, Vice—rector for Research at Sakhalin State University.
Hydrogen-powered drones
In addition to these projects, scientists are developing unique hydrogen-powered drones. On the site of the International Forum "Islands of Sustainable Development: the Climatic Aspect", which took place on August 1-2 at the Pushisty drone port, researchers at the Krylia Sakhalina Research and Production Center presented their own developments - a tethered drone capable of monitoring the area for more than six hours in a row.
In addition, a crewless boat equipped with side-view sonar and a measuring echo sounder was presented among the exhibits. The development is designed to identify sunken debris and potential threats to navigation. This spring, NPC staff successfully used such an installation to study the condition of the seabed near Shumshu Island, thereby ensuring the safety of large-tonnage vessel approaches.
— If we talk about hydrogen, the key difference between such technologies and such developments, in addition to the environmental aspect, is the multiple prolongation of their operation. If we are talking about a crewless boat, then even 10-20 times," Vladislav Geniatov, executive director of the Krylia Sakhalina Research and Production Center, told Izvestia.
Sakhalin Oblast achieved carbon neutrality a year earlier than required by the federal law on conducting an experiment to limit greenhouse gas emissions. This was announced by the Governor of the region Valery Limarenko during the forum "Islands of Sustainable Development: the climate aspect". According to him, Sakhalin has become the first region in Russia where the absorption of greenhouse gases exceeds their emissions.
Work on the creation of new drones is underway as part of the national project "Unmanned Aircraft Systems". The research takes place within the framework of the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia.
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