One of the most promising new energy sources are hydrogen storage systems. This was stated in report "The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning: What’s left at the Bottom of Pandora's Box?" by Igor Sechin, Executive Secretary of the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation for Strategic Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector and Environmental Security, at the Energy Panel of the XXIX St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"In our estimates, hydrogen could eventually occupy a significant niche in the global energy balance. One of the most promising areas is hydrogen energy storage, which, unlike lithium-ion systems, has not yet achieved widespread adoption," Sechin said.

In his opinion, hydrogen solutions could potentially be used to store excess cheap electricity from baseload and renewable generation facilities.

Currently, hydrogen technologies are inferior to traditional energy solutions in economic efficiency. Citing data from the International Energy Agency, Sechin noted that the cost of producing "green" hydrogen in most regions of the world exceeds 200 dollars per barrel of oil equivalent.

In turn, thermonuclear energy remains a long-term goal. Sechin recalled that, despite the potential of practically inexhaustible energy, a stable controllable thermonuclear reaction has not yet been achieved. Nevertheless, investments in this sector are growing — in 2025 they increased by almost 40% - to 10 billion dollars.

"Data and energy storage in space belongs to the realm of science fiction. These projects will have to face countless challenges that currently have no scientific and technological solution. They include radiation, temperature extremes, decompression, commercially unacceptable cost of delivering cargos into the space orbit, power and data transmission, and many others," Igor Sechin said.

Department of Information and Advertising
Rosneft Oil Company
June 6, 2026