Navigating the hydrogen prospect: A comprehensive review of sustainable source-based production technologies, transport solutions, advanced storage mechanisms, and CCUS integration

The review is a comprehensive discussion of current research advances, commercial scale developments, challenges, and techno-economics for the entire H2 value chain, including production, mainly focusing on sustainable sources, storage, and transport. The challenges, advantages, and uses of H2 energy are included at length. Moreover, apart from the sustainable production approaches, the approaches and current developments for combating the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing H2 production facilities are highlighted in terms of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). Concisely, the review discusses current material and recent technological advancements in developing pilot projects and large-scale establishments for viable and rapidly emerging source-based H2 production. Moreover, the review also aims to provide an in-depth discussion and explore current developments based on the advantages of H2 energy in terms of its utilization, based on its high energy density, and its ability to be used as a feedstock and fuel. On the other hand, the challenges of H2 are also elaborated. Next, the role of CCUS in a carbon-neutral economy and value chain for minimization of emissions from existing facilities is thoroughly deliberated, and the recent commercial-scale implementation of CCUS technologies is highlighted. Extending the utilization and recycling of captured CO2 emissions along with H2 to produce e-fuels in terms of current advances is detailed in this review. Furthermore, the most applicable, efficient, and developing approaches are discussed for physical and chemical H2 storage, considering recent large-scale implementations of liquid carriers and liquid organic hydrogen carriers as storage options. Lastly, the review elaborates on recent insights into advances in H2 transport infrastructure, including compressed and liquid H2 delivery via roads, ships, pipelines, and flight cargo. The review gives precise insights into the recent scenario through an elaborated conclusion of each discussion topic separately and a discussion of future perspectives. The current review will help researchers to fully understand the ongoing research advancements and challenges in the H2 value chain for formulating new solutions for sustainable H2 production, along with focusing on suitable approaches for its storage and transport to make the production and utilization of H2 applicable on a large scale.