Hydrogen Carriers: Storage That Regenerates
Gaseous hydrogen is expensive to transport and difficult to store at scale. This is why hydrogen carriers—including ammonia, LOHCs (Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers), and metal hydrides—are becoming central to long-distance hydrogen logistics. The value of these carriers lies not only in transport but in regeneration and circular use.
Hydrogen gas requires significant energy for compression, cooling, and shipping. Carriers allow hydrogen to be bound, transported, released, and reused, enabling chemical circularity instead of one-way storage.
1. Ammonia (NH₃)
Strengths: existing global infrastructure (fertilizer ports, shipping, pipelines), efficient cracking technologies achieving 88–92%, and a fully closed nitrogen cycle.
Circular Value: the carrier can be regenerated after cracking and reused indefinitely.
2. LOHCs (Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers) – e.g., Toluene ↔ MCH
Strengths: behaves like a standard liquid fuel, compatible with existing fuel infrastructure, and carrier degradation <1% per cycle in optimized systems.
Circular Value: allows hundreds of hydrogenation/dehydrogenation cycles in a reusable loop.
3. Metal Hydrides
Strengths: solid-state, safe, no leakage, reversible absorption/desorption cycles, and ideal where industrial waste heat (300–400°C) is available.
Circular Value: hydrogen can be absorbed and released repeatedly without carrier loss.
Key Takeaway: The difference is not just the storage technology but the ability to regenerate the carrier. Circular carriers turn hydrogen storage into a sustainable, reusable cycle rather than a one-time cost.
