To fully leverage the potential of hydrogen as a path to decarbonization, the development of robust and extensive hydrogen pipeline infrastructure is crucial. In addition to usual challenges faced by other energy infrastructure problems such as natural gas pipelines or electric transmission lines, hydrogen pipelines present unique concerns including embrittlement and higher operating pressure. This is the Executive Summary for report 3002028849, which seeks to leverage the existing research on natural gas and hydrogen transportation and studies on regional differences in infrastructure project costs to develop assumptions and cost estimates of new hydrogen pipelines.
Material costs for new hydrogen pipelines may be 10% higher than for new natural gas pipelines, which would result in a 1.4–4.6% difference in total cost per unit inch-mile. Due to hydrogen’s lower energy density, capital costs would be 14%–16% higher per unit energy flow rate for hydrogen compared to natural gas. These estimates for pipeline costs likely understate the difference because the scope did not include the compressor stations along the pipeline route, which are expected to have higher capital and operating costs for hydrogen pipelines than natural gas pipelines.