Hydrogen and hydrogen carriers

Moving hydrogen as gas, liquid or inside other chemicals.

Transport · Liquid and gaseous fuels · No. 60

• Transport
• Form: Gaseous fuel and carriers

Cooling hydrogen to minus 253 C for shipping uses 30-36% of its energy before the voyage even begins.

Chart: Illustration: Hydrogen and hydrogen carriers

Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Hydrogen leaves an electrolyser or reformer as a very light gas holding little energy per litre. To move it, you squeeze it, chill it to minus 253 C, or bind it into ammonia.

Three things to know

1. Moving hydrogen 1,000 km by pipeline uses under 0.5% of its energy on compression, far less than liquefying or converting it.
2. Leaked hydrogen warms the climate about 11.6 times as much as CO₂ per kg over 100 years, by making methane last longer.
3. Kawasaki's 40,000 m³ liquid hydrogen ship, ordered in 2026, will carry 32 times as much as the pioneering Suiso Frontier.

The journey

1. 1 ProductionElectrolyser or reformer, gas at 20-30 bar
2. 2 PipelineCompressed to 70-100 bar over land
3. 3 Tube trailer180-250 bar cylinders for small users
4. 4 Liquid or carrierLiquid at minus 253 C, or as ammonia
5. 5 DeliveryWarmed or cracked back for users

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