Large-scale hydrogen refuelling infrastructure in ports

Hydrogen produced from renewable energy represents a promising pathway toward fossil-free shipping; however, the lack of hydrogen bunkering infrastructure in ports remains a significant barrier to its adoption. While hydrogen refuelling technologies for road transport are commercially established, their direct adaptation to maritime applications introduces new challenges related to, e.g., compression power, storage capacity, cooling demand, refuelling rates, and complex cryogenic handling and boil-off control required for liquid hydrogen systems. This study reviews the state-of-the-art of hydrogen refuelling systems, including compressed gaseous, liquid and cryo-compressed hydrogen, and evaluates their potential integration into port bunkering infrastructure. It analyses refuelling principles, main components, and identifies the technical constraints of scaling from vehicle to ship applications. Both compressed and liquid hydrogen have strong potential to serve as marine fuels, with refuelling technologies that could be scaled for port operations, though not without significant challenges and further development. The findings show that compressed gaseous hydrogen refuelling systems face spatial, compression, and cooling constraints when scaled to maritime demand. In contrast, liquid hydrogen refuelling systems offer superior volumetric efficiency. However, liquefaction process requires considerably more energy than compression and involves complex cryogenic handling, boil-off management, and integration with port logistics and safety systems. The study concludes that safe, large-scale hydrogen bunkering in ports requires high-throughput infrastructure that integrates compact storage and advanced energy management, with the choice between compressed and liquid hydrogen guided by vessel demand, port space, refuelling time, and power requirements.