As green hydrogen projects move toward deployment, transmission and distribution are emerging as critical cost and risk drivers. However, most project evaluations still compare individual transport vectors—pipelines, compressed gas, liquid hydrogen (LH₂), and ammonia—in isolation, overlooking system-level costs and optimisation opportunities.

This paper presents an industry-ready modelling framework that evaluates hydrogen transport as an integrated, end-to-end supply chain. The tool captures key process steps—including compression, liquefaction, conversion to chemical carrier, shipping, and reconversion—rapidly assessing thousands of pathway combinations using a consistent levelised cost of hydrogen transport (LCOHT) metric.

Case studies across Europe and North Africa show that single-vector approaches often oversimplify and underestimate true end-to-end costs. While multi-modal pathways (e.g. pipeline–shipping–pipeline) are typically required to reflect real-world constraints, results demonstrate that minimising the number of vector transitions is critical to reducing overall cost, due to penalties associated with repeated conversion and handling steps. Early-stage design decisions—such as pressure levels and vector selection—therefore have a strong influence on downstream infrastructure requirements and project economics.

The framework provides actionable insights for developers, investors, and policymakers to optimise transport strategies, reduce uncertainty, and support investment decisions—enabling more cost-effective hydrogen supply chains and accelerating deployment.