Systems Analyses and Modelling of Hydrogen Shipping within the Value Chain

It is broadly accepted that future energy systems will be significantly reliant on renewable energy, such as wind, solar and tidal production. On a global scale, the renewable energy capacity of such systems will be anisotropic and, as such, different countries will be able to produce renewable energy at significantly different costs. This cost differential generates a stimulus for energy trade on a global scale, providing ubiquitous access to cheap, and abundant, energy.
Such trade requires a vector, to deliver, store, and deploy this energy. It is anticipated that hydrogen will play a primary role as this energy vector in a fully decarbonised global energy system. As a chemical energy carrier, the storage, transportation and distribution of this energy can be performed effectively on a global scale, using similar technology employed to transport Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Furthermore, unlike many alternative fuels, the end use of hydrogen, whether combustion, electrochemical or as a chemical feedstock, is axiomatically carbon-free, with the majority of the carbon footprint associated with the production, physical transformation and distribution of the hydrogen. Although many sectors could see hydrogen uptake, initially, hydrogen will see centralised deployment in hard to electrify industries, including steel production, high-temperature processes and long-haul transportation, with potential long-term applications in the power sector, via seasonal storage with dispatchable generation. Although the power sector could entirely rely on hydrogen through fuel cells and gas turbines, many countries are not including such a use case in national energy plans, as they intend to have cheap, and low-carbon, alternative energy that will supply their respective grids.