LOHC hydrogen storage is the subject of a new review in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy that compares four families of liquid organic hydrogen carriers and concludes that catalyst deactivation, high energy demand and low round trip efficiency still hold back deployment. The paper, by Mohammad Minhazul Abedin and M. Nasiruzzaman Shaikh and funded by KFUPM, appeared online on 21 October 2026 as article 158162 in volume 286 and draws on 249 references (DOI 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2026.158162).
How LOHC hydrogen storage works
A liquid organic hydrogen carrier binds hydrogen chemically to an organic molecule that stays liquid. According to the paper’s introduction, hydrogenation runs at 50 to 70 bar and 100 to 250 C, while dehydrogenation to release the gas happens near 1 atm at 270 to 350 C. The review reports gravimetric capacities of 6 to 8 wt% and volumetric capacities of up to 70 kg of hydrogen per cubic metre in its abstract. The introduction of the same paper cites up to 60 kg per cubic metre against about 40 kg per cubic metre for 700 bar compressed gas, so readers should check the full text before quoting the higher figure.
The concept is not new. The introduction traces it to work at the Paul Scherrer Institute in 1981 and points to Chiyoda’s toluene and methylcyclohexane pilot, which ran for about 10,000 hours at 50 Nm3 per hour in 2013 and 2014, followed by a 2020 demonstration shipping hydrogen from Brunei to Japan.
Four carrier families compared
The review sorts the field into carbocyclic, heterocyclic, alcohol based and formic acid carriers. The abstract gives the following headline figures.
| Carrier family | Figures reported in the abstract |
|---|---|
| Carbocyclic | Over 95% conversion, over 99% selectivity, catalyst lifetime over 10,000 h, dehydrogenation at 270 to 350 C |
| Heterocyclic (N-ethylcarbazole) | Dehydrogenation at 170 to 270 C, hydrogen purity over 99.99% |
| Alcohol based | 12.5 wt% hydrogen in methanol, with CO generation noted as a drawback |
| Formic acid | No figure given in the abstract |
The trade-off is visible in the table. Carbocyclic carriers have the longest catalyst lifetimes and the most operating history, but they need the hottest release step. Heterocyclic carriers release hydrogen at lower temperature and very high purity, yet the abstract does not quantify their cycle life. Alcohol carriers carry the most hydrogen by weight, but CO formation is a problem for downstream fuel cells.
The energy penalty behind the low round trip efficiency
The paper gives a hydrogenation enthalpy of minus 50.6 to minus 72 kJ per mole of hydrogen. Our calculation shows what that means in practice: one kilogram of hydrogen is about 496 mol, so the heat involved is roughly 25.1 to 35.7 MJ, or 21% to 30% of the 120 MJ per kilogram energy content of the hydrogen itself. Hydrogenation releases that heat and dehydrogenation must supply it again at high temperature, which explains why the review flags energy demand and round trip efficiency as key obstacles. Heat integration with an industrial site can offset part of the penalty, but the paper does not quantify it in the abstract.
What the review means for hydrogen logistics
For long distance transport, LOHC hydrogen storage competes with ammonia, liquid hydrogen and solid state options. Our report on a metal organic framework hydrogen storage review showed how far room temperature solid storage still sits from its targets, which keeps liquid carriers in the race. Ports across the region are also positioning for hydrogen and e-fuel flows, as covered in our note on Asia Pacific ports and hydrogen e-fuels, and a carrier that fits existing liquid handling would suit those routes.
The full text is behind a paywall and this article relies on the abstract, highlights and open introduction. The review’s main message is that LOHC hydrogen storage is technically proven at pilot scale, and that the next gains depend on better catalysts, lower temperature release and heat recovery rather than on new carrier chemistry alone.
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