Challenges and Paths of Hydrogen Energy Transportation Risk Management from a Full Life Cycle Perspective

Abstract

Under the impetus of the dual carbon strategy, hydrogen energy faces a critical transport bottleneck due to high costs and safety risks, intensified by hydrogen’s extreme flammability, wide explosive limits, and metal embrittlement. This study introduces lifecycle management into hydrogen transport safety, systematically identifying key risks across high-pressure tube trailers, liquid hydrogen tankers, pipelines, and solid-state storage, and analyzing accident mechanisms including fatigue failure, hydrogen embrittlement cracking, vapor flash ignition, and vacuum failure, with emphasis on amplification effects in tunnels and refueling station unloading. The root cause is identified as fragmented management and information silos across production, transport, utilization, and disposal, enabling risk propagation without full-lifecycle accountability. A three-dimensional strategy is proposed: technologically, dynamic risk models using connected vehicle data and active leak defense like acoustic detection and catalytic abatement; managerially, lifelong electronic equipment archives and closed-loop handover information flows; institutionally, green design and recycling standards aligned with dual carbon goals, plus carbon trading to incentivize safety upgrades. Breaking cross-chain barriers and building a safety narrative from inception to decommissioning for every asset is fundamental to achieving intrinsic hydrogen transport safety.