Nature Energy published an article on September 15, 2026, detailing how regional geographical and political characteristics affect hydrogen pipeline transport costs. The source states that current cost estimates often rely on simplistic models that ignore regional factors, which leads to potential miscalculations.
Researchers examined hydrogen transport expenses by incorporating geographical factors like topography, land use, and existing infrastructure. They also included political and economic variables through country-specific weighted average costs of capital, reflecting economic, political, and legal risks.
Global route data
Using a geographic information system-based model, the study calculated route-specific costs for 4,900 potential global pipeline connections. Levelized transport costs range globally from 10.9 to 34.2 euros per megawatt-hour of hydrogen for every 1,000 kilometers of straight-line distance. The standard deviation across these global routes stands at 2.9.
Europe and North America recorded lower average levelized transport costs of 15.0 and 15.6 respectively. Africa and South America showed higher averages at 17.2 and 17.1. Global pipeline length is projected to expand from roughly 5,000 kilometers today to 209,000 kilometers by 2050.
