Advances and Challenges in the Production, Storage and Transport of Green Hydrogen: A Systematic Review

Resumen

Green hydrogen has emerged as a strategic option for decarbonizing the industrial sector, given its potential to substantially reduce emissions from energy use and carbon-intensive processes. Accordingly, this systematic review aimed to identify and classify the technologies, strategies, recent advances, and challenges reported in the literature, providing a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of green hydrogen production, storage, and transport while synthesizing evidence from an integrated value-chain perspective that is often addressed in a fragmented manner. A PICO-based search was conducted in the Web of Science database, and study selection followed the PRISMA framework using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. From 3,734 records initially retrieved, 65 studies met the eligibility requirements and were analyzed in depth. The results indicate that alkaline electrolysis and proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis are currently the most mature production routes. For storage, underground salt caverns emerge as the most viable option for large-scale applications. For transport, chemical carriers and dedicated pipelines stand out as relevant alternatives depending on the scenario assessed. The most frequently reported challenges include high upfront investment costs, material degradation, hydrogen embrittlement, insufficient infrastructure, and the lack of harmonized regulatory standards. Overall, green hydrogen is positioned as a key energy vector to enable lower-impact industrial pathways; however, large-scale deployment will require improving system efficiencies, reducing costs, expanding storage and distribution networks, and establishing robust regulations to ensure safety, competitiveness, and long-term sustainability.