Hydrogen mobility: activating the transition towards the future

Abstract The global transition to hydrogen as a sustainable alternative fuel is ongoing, owing to its ability to decarbonize the hard-to-abate industries of mobility. However, barriers to adoption still exist, and enabling solutions are needed. This study explores barriers and enabling solutions, in terms of infrastructure development, operational requirements, and supply chain demands, to the large-scale adoption of hydrogen technologies in road, maritime, and aviation transport industries. By means of a systematic literature review, reinforced by industry perspectives gathered from a survey of Italian professionals, common barriers are identified together with those specific to each industry. These include barriers related to fuel (e.g., clean energy sourcing for production), infrastructure (e.g., location and geographical dispersion of refueling), vehicle (e.g., availability of low-cost components), and operations (e.g., availability of refueling). Potential enabling solutions to lower them are explored (e.g., innovations, economies of scale, development of pilot projects). One possible development of the industry is a gradual shift toward modes of transport that are considered better suited to hydrogen technologies. The study assists policymakers by outlining the next steps to take for decarbonizing transportation, with actions aligned with a prioritization that identifies infrastructure as the starting point.