The energy transition and the gradual move away from fossil energy sources necessitate the import of green hydrogen in Germany. But how should the transport be organized? The Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) has tested the transport of hydrogen in containers as part of the Provide project. Since hydrogen pipelines will not be available for several years, maritime transport is currently a vital alternative. However, there are currently neither enough transport ships nor sufficient handling or storage facilities to import large quantities of hydrogen.
As part of the Provide project, ISL has examined another option: special pressure gas containers filled with compressed hydrogen, which can be transported across the seas. This method offers great flexibility as the hydrogen containers can be transported as "additional cargo" using the existing infrastructure and means of transport for standard containers. Alternatively, there are concepts that envisage special transport ships exclusively for hydrogen containers.
The Provide project thoroughly investigated the technical and regulatory feasibility as well as the economic conditions. In addition, logistics concepts and exemplary logistics chains were developed and evaluated to ensure the efficiency and feasibility of transporting hydrogen using pressure gas containers.
Containerized Hydrogen Transport as a Serious Option
As a result, it can be concluded that containerized hydrogen transport is a serious option within Europe. Due to the availability of transport containers on the market, they could be implemented promptly. This would allow existing hydrogen demands in Germany that cannot be met by domestic production capacities to be fulfilled through imports from other producing countries.
The study examines various concepts and their potential for using hydrogen containers for hydrogen import. Furthermore, these concepts are evaluated in terms of their possible implementation.
