Motivation

Hydrogen is considered a promising energy carrier for a climate-friendly future. In particular, it can help reduce CO₂ emissions in the transport sector. However, transporting hydrogen, especially by road involves specific safety risks and challenges. Hydrogen is extremely light, spreads rapidly, and can ignite even at low energy levels. Moreover, it burns with a colorless flame, making it difficult to detect a fire (Najjar, 2013).

Road transport of hydrogen is also technically demanding, as its low volumetric energy density requires complex compression or liquefaction. At the same time, public concern about possible transport accidents hinders broader acceptance (Caputo, Pelagagge & Salini, 2011).

Against this backdrop, it becomes clear that technical solutions for monitoring and securing hydrogen road transport are of central importance. The use of appropriate safety technologies can significantly contribute to minimizing risks and building trust in the technology.

Objective

The aim of this work is to identify the technical challenges involved in the road transport of hydrogen and to explore technological approaches that can address these challenges. The focus is particularly on monitoring technologies such as sensors for continuous control of pressure, temperature, and vibration, as well as systems for early anomaly detection.

This study seeks to systematically record existing technologies, analyze their fields of application and functional principles, and present current development perspectives.

By systematically reviewing current scientific and technical literature, the work aims to provide a well-founded overview of the state of the art, serving as a foundation for further research and practical implementation strategies in the field of hydrogen logistics.

Possible Research Questions:

• What technical challenges and safety-related risks exist in the road transport of hydrogen?
• What technologies are currently used to monitor and control critical transport conditions such as pressure, temperature, or leakage?
• What approaches exist for further development or enhancement of these technologies, for example in the areas of sensor systems, data processing, or automation?

Literature

• Najjar, Y. S. H. (2013). Hydrogen safety: The road toward green technology. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 38(25), 10716–10728. Abgerufen am [03.06.2025], von https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360319913006750
• Caputo, A. C., Pelagagge, P. M., & Salini, P. (2011). Impact of accidents risk on hydrogen road transportation cost. International Journal of Energy Sector Management, 5(2), 215–241. Abgerufen am [03.06.2025], von https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/17506221111145995/full/pdf

General Conditions

If you are interested in writing this thesis, please send your transcript of records to an Samira Ghaneian. In a meeting, the modalities and focus of the work can be discussed according to personal preferences. You can start your work from 10.06.2025.