The Role of Geospatial Techniques for Renewable Hydrogen Value Chain: A Systematic Review of Current Status, Challenges and Future Developments

The clean energy transition has elevated renewable hydrogen as a key energy vector, yet challenges in cost-competitiveness and infrastructure planning persist. This study conducts a PRISMA-based systematic review of recent geospatial applications across the hydrogen value chain—production, storage, transport, and end-use. Bibliometric analysis reveals a strong focus on production (48%), with less attention to storage (12%) and end-uses (18%). Geographic Information Systems (GIS) dominate (80%), primarily for siting, potential assessment, and infrastructure planning, while other techniques such as geophysics and real-time monitoring are emerging. Identified research gaps include fragmented and low-resolution data, lack of harmonization, and high computational demands, which are independent from the phase in the hydrogen value chain. Promising areas for future research include hydrological resource mapping for electrolysis, offshore infrastructure clustering, and spatialized levelized cost modeling. The review concludes with a call for high-resolution, AI-enabled geospatial frameworks to support automated, location-specific decision-making and scalable renewable hydrogen deployment.