Clean hydrogen: outlook for freight transport in the United States

This paper discusses opportunities for clean hydrogen to decarbonize freight transport in the United States. Clean hydrogen is presented as a complementary solution to electrification and other clean fuels for the road, air, water, and rail freight segments. Each of these segments presents challenges for clean hydrogen, and the issues of each are discussed in detail, with an eye towards representing the complicated landscape of clean hydrogen, electrification, and other clean fuels that could play a role. Some of the key findings include: hydrogen and hydrogen-based clean fuels have the potential to offer mature, low-cost, low-carbon alternatives to conventional freight transport fuels by 2050. Long-haul road freight, maritime freight, air freight, and rail freight will require clean, energy-dense fuels sourced from low-and zero-carbon feedstocks in order to achieve near-term and long-term decarbonisation goals. Hydrogen and hydrogen based fuels are among the leading decarbonisation solutions for long-haul road freight, maritime freight, air freight, and long-distance rail freight by 2050.