There are basically three ways to move large volumes of hydrogen across water—and every one of them is a wallet-destroying headache.
Option one: liquefy it. That means chilling hydrogen to temperatures so low they make LNG look like bathwater. Sounds simple until you remember hydrogen leaks constantly, corrodes most containers, and laughs at standard insulation. It’s not just expensive—it’s absurdly expensive.
Option two: bind it to something. Ammonia, methanol—take your pick. Both are volatile, toxic, and come with entire safety manuals written in bold red font. Still not cheap. Still not safe.
Option three: tie it to some synthetic oil, ship the whole stew, then rip the hydrogen back out at the other end. Congratulations—you now have a two-way shipping problem moving vast amounts of deadweight just to carry a few atoms that want to escape the whole time.
All complex. All costly. All finicky.
Oh—and there’s a fourth option. It’s called methane.
Hydrogen’s friendly cousin. All the usable energy, none of the pathological behavior.Funny how no one wants to talk about that.