2.1 Spatial Configuration and Multi-Criteria Hub Selection across Transcontinental Networks
The spatial integration of green hydrogen hubs into transnational trade corridors requires balanced optimization between upstream renewable generation potential and midstream transport modalities [1]. While green hydrogen is widely recognised as an indispensable vector for decarbonising hard-to-abate industrial sectors, its physical transit across extensive geographic corridors introduces severe capital and thermodynamic penalties [2]. Transcontinental routing plans, such as integrated networks connecting production hubs to external industrial clusters, demonstrate that pipeline networks provide substantial volumetric advantages over maritime transport when connecting contiguous overland regions [1], [5]. Nevertheless, developing dedicated pipeline systems demands intensive upfront capital investment, long-term bilateral off-take guarantees, and complex right-of-way permissions across transit nations [2], [5]. Conversely, maritime transport utilising ammonia or liquid organic hydrogen carriers facilitates access to distant global markets, yet imposes substantial energy conversion losses during repeated synthesis, liquefaction, and reconversion cycles [2]. Consequently, corridor feasibility depends not merely on local renewable electricity abundance, but on strategic multi-criteria trade-offs between transport distance, conversion efficiency, and regional geopolitical stability across the designated logistics corridor [1], [5].