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3.4 Hydrogen Supply Chains

3. Example 2: Transport of liquid hydrogen via ship

Hydrogen supply chain - Example 2: Transport of liquid hydrogen via ship
Hydrogen supply chain - Example 2: Transport of liquid hydrogen via ship by Fabian Carels and Lisa Karies (CC BY-SA)

Aviation is another sector in which hydrogen may be used in the future to replace fossil fuels and minimise greenhouse gas emissions. Unlike for steel production, however, hydrogen for aircraft refuelling will most likely not be demanded in gaseous form but as liquid hydrogen (you will also find more information on the use of hydrogen in aviation in chapter 4). One possible option to provide liquid hydrogen for aviation can be the import via liquid hydrogen tankers. Since very few airports have their own port, the liquid hydrogen has to be transported to the airport by truck after the ship arrives.

Since the boil-off losses that occur during the storage of liquid hydrogen (as described in Chapter 3.2) increase with the duration of transport, liquid hydrogen-based supply chains are less suitable for very long transport distances. For the assumed supply of liquid hydrogen to an airport in Northern Germany, Tunisia is chosen as an export country becuase it is relatively close to Central Europe. Large-scale seasonal hydrogen storage is not used in this example for two reasons. Due to its geographical location, the seasonal fluctuations in the availability of renewable energies in Tunisia are significantly lower than in most parts of Europe. In addition, the boil-off losses already mentioned would be high if liquid hydrogen were to be stored for long periods of time.