Hydrogen and hydrogen carriers: Efficiency and losses
Where a third or more of the energy disappears
What this tab covers How much energy is lost while it moves and while it waits in storage or transit, and how much energy the transport itself consumes, in per cent.Moving hydrogen as compressed gas in a pipe loses little, but turning it into a liquid or a chemical carrier and back can use a third or more of its energy before the ship leaves port.
Chart: Efficiency ranges
Used to drive transport Lost in transitLosses by measure
| Measure | Range | Type | What is measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pipeline compression, 1,000 km | 0.4%19 | Used to drive transport | About 38 MW of compressor capacity to move 10 GW of hydrogen 1,000 km in a 1,000 mm pipe with one station (share calculated) |
| Liquefaction | 30 to 36%3 | Used to drive transport | Energy used to liquefy, as share of the hydrogen's energy content, today's plants |
| Ammonia synthesis | 12 to 26%3 | Used to drive transport | Energy for converting hydrogen to ammonia, share of hydrogen energy |
| Ammonia cracking back to hydrogen | 13 to 34%3 | Used to drive transport | Energy for reconversion, share of hydrogen energy |
| LOHC dehydrogenation | 25 to 35%3 | Used to drive transport | Heat to release hydrogen from the carrier, share of hydrogen energy (executive summary gives 30 to 40%) |
| Liquefaction or reconversion for shipping | 30% (minimum)1 | Used to drive transport | Above 10 kWh per kg H2, over 30% of the hydrogen's energy content |
| Liquid hydrogen boil-off | 0.05 to 0.25% per day3 | Lost while held | Evaporation during shipping and storage |
| Hydrogen leakage, liquid hydrogen transport and handling | 2 to 20%8 | Lost in transit | Range of published estimates (whole value chain 0.2 to 20%); very uncertain |
Holding periods and inventory
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Ammonia round trip (synthesis plus cracking) | Almost 50% of the hydrogen energy3 |
| LOHC carrier degradation | About 0.1% of carrier lost per cycle; no boil-off3 |
| Typical 10,000 km sea voyage | About 15 days at an assumed 15 knots (calculated)3 |
The losses sit mostly at the two ends. A pipeline mainly costs compressor energy (a German study puts compressor capacity at under 0.5% of the power carried over 1,000 km, calculated), while ships carrying liquid hydrogen or ammonia lose little on the water but pay heavily at the liquefier or the cracker. If the user can take ammonia directly (for fertiliser or as a fuel), the cracking step disappears and the chain becomes much more efficient.
Leakage matters because hydrogen indirectly warms the climate. Measured data are scarce and published estimates span a factor of up to 100, with the highest figures (2 to 20%) for liquid hydrogen transport and handling, where boil-off gas may be vented. Boil-off of 0.05 to 0.25% per day means a 15-day voyage could lose about 0.8 to 3.8% of the cargo unless boil-off is burned as ship fuel (calculated).
Sources
- Global Hydrogen Review 2026: Trade and infrastructure IEA, 2026
- Global hydrogen trade to meet the 1.5C climate goal: Part II, Technology review of hydrogen carriers IRENA, 2022
- Wide range in estimates of hydrogen emissions from infrastructure (Esquivel-Elizondo et al., Frontiers in Energy Research 11) Frontiers, 2023
- Compression and hydrogen transport: a technical and economic analysis (Fleer, Sciancalepore, Spreckelsen and Verbuecheln, Open Grid Europe, TransHyDE flagship project) TransHyDE / German Federal Ministry of Research hydrogen flagship projects, 2025