PAO Severstal and PJSC Gazprom Neft, one of Russia’s leading oil producers, signed an MOU and cooperation agreement to collaborate on the development of technologies and materials for the production, transportation, storage and use of hydrogen in reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The agreement was signed by Alexander Shevelev, CEO of Severstal, and Vadim Yakovlev, First Deputy CEO of Gazprom Neft, and was announced during a panel session at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2021, titled: "Low-Carbon Development and Climate Policy: Opportunities for Russian Businesses on the Global Decarbonization Agenda."

As part of the agreement, Severstal and Gazprom Neft intend to jointly pursue and develop opportunities and technologies for capturing and utilizing carbon dioxide, as well as using hydrogen in metallurgical production and developing materials for its transportation and storage. Provided both parties are interested, the companies may also jointly implement technological decarbonization projects. This could include altering production processes using hydrocarbon fuel to use methane-hydrogen mixtures instead.

Today, Severstal ranks 11th among global steel companies in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (in the top 25%), according to the World Steel Association. The Company has set itself a target to reduce its emissions by 3% by 2023 (from 2020 levels). In 2021, Severstal established a corporate division focused on the use of hydrogen and developing innovative decarbonization projects (for example, carbon capture and disposal, and CO₂ offsetting).