MIT researchers find no single best method for shipping hydrogen, build decision tool instead

A team led by the MIT Energy Initiative has concluded there is no single best method for transporting hydrogen over long distances, and has instead created a tool to help users choose the optimal option for their specific circumstances, MIT News reports. The study, funded by ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Co. through MITEI and published in the journal Fuel, examined carriers including liquid hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, and liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs). Researchers found that cost and carbon emissions vary significantly by location, route, and scale. Former MITEI postdocs Gasim Ibrahim, now at Honeywell, and Guiyan Zang, now an associate professor at Washington State University, led the study. The team's starting assumption was that hydrogen would need to be transported overseas or across large water bodies, and that converting it to liquid form would be necessary given hydrogen's low energy density per volume and tendency to escape containment. The tool enables stakeholders to evaluate trade-offs rather than prescribe a universal solution.