A comparative study of hydrogen transport modes for energy logistics

Abstract

The transport of hydrogen from production sites to end users is a decisive bottleneck for the deployment of hydrogen as an energy vector, since hydrogen's very low density under ambient conditions forces compression, liquefaction, or chemical conversion before it can be moved economically. This paper presents a comparative study of the main hydrogen transport modes — compressed gaseous hydrogen (GH2) trucking, liquid hydrogen (LH2) trucking and shipping, dedicated or repurposed pipelines, chemical carriers (liquid organic hydrogen carriers, LOHC, and ammonia, NH3), and solid-state metal-hydride carriers — assessed against technical, economic, safety, and logistical criteria. Energy density, conversion and boil-off losses, transport cost as a function of distance and throughput, technology readiness, and regulatory constraints are synthesised from recent techno-economic literature, and illustrated through the prospective Morocco-Europe export corridor. The results confirm that no single mode dominates across all distances and scales: pipelines are cost-optimal for large, sustained overland flows; GH2 trucking suits short-distance, small-scale delivery; LH2 and chemical carriers become competitive for long-distance and maritime transport. Implications of carrier choice for hydrogen delivery logistics and vehicle-routing planning are discussed.