The winner of the Leaders of Russia management competition, Ilya Menshchikov, a Candidate of Chemical Sciences, has joined forces with a team of researchers and engineers to create a system that stores methane from natural gas and enables rapid refueling for vehicles powered by natural gas. The Lada Vesta equipped with the pilot installation was moved from Togliatti to St. Petersburg and has completed a round trip. The Leaders of Russia competition press service reported this progress.
Ilya Menshchikov serves as the project manager responsible for applying natural gas adsorption batteries in road transport and holds the post of deputy head at the engineering and technical center of the Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He won the fourth season of Leaders of Russia.
He notes that the use of natural gas in motor transportation is a strategic area, drawing strong emphasis from the Russian government and major energy companies alike.
The researcher highlights that natural gas storage technology, NGA, built on newly developed nanoporous adsorbents, enjoys global demand. He believes Russia has a real opportunity to emerge as a leader in this field.
He adds that adsorption technology enables operation at lower pressures than those typically used for gas compression, which can improve efficiency and safety margins.
Alongside this work, progress continues on a new type of gas station that consumes less energy. This approach aims to close the technology loop and address issues such as slow refueling and reduced tank capacity caused by impurity buildup.
With the help of APG technology, it becomes more economical to gasify small consumers in regions without pipelines or where laying them would be impractical. The project author described a mobile terminal that can be filled with gas, mounted on a platform, and transported to the site of consumption.
He acknowledges that much work remains, including tailoring the solution to market needs, pursuing certification, and advancing standardization studies.
There is strong support from industrial partners as well as the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade for this initiative, he notes.
The Leaders of Russia management competition stands as the flagship project of the presidential platform Russia — Land of Opportunities, a program active since 2017 that aims to showcase and develop talent across the country.