Nature Communications· 2026Q1
Mapping Future Energy Journeys Through Modeling the Global Transport of Synthetic Energy Carriers
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- 2026year
Short summary
A new model identifies key global import corridors for synthetic energy carriers, finding that retrofit-ready pipelines make export regions competitive even with moderate renewables, while remote exporters rely on port and coastal pipeline access.
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Key points
- A novel model combines production costs, infrastructure (ports, pipelines, shipping), and conversion processes to identify global import corridors for synthetic energy carriers.
- Export regions connected by retrofit-ready pipelines are competitive even with moderate renewable energy potential.
- Remote exporters' competitiveness hinges on port availability and coastal pipeline access.
- Gaseous hydrogen is dominant for short pipeline routes, ammonia for maritime trade, and methanol/methane for long multimodal chains.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract Synthetic energy carriers can connect renewable-energy-rich potential production regions with distant demand centers, but the emergence of trade depends on total supply costs. Here, we develop a spatially resolved heuristic combining hydrogen production costs with ports, pipelines, and shipping routes, as well as syntheses, cracking, and reformation processes, to identify key import corridors. Across 10,883 production locations and seven different scenarios, we find that export regions connected to the importer through retrofit-ready pipelines remain competitive despite only moderate renewable potentials. Meanwhile, for remote exporters competitiveness depends on port availability and coastal access through pipeline networks. Gaseous hydrogen dominates short pipeline routes, and ammonia is preferred for maritime trade, whereas methanol and methane emerge in long multimodal chains. Additional results show that low-cost heat availability is required for the competitiveness of liquid organic hydrogen carriers, while accounting for market values of conventional counterparts boosts ammonia and methanol trade.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Nature Communications, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Energy Engineering and Power Technology
Energy Engineering and Power TechnologyEnergy