A new international push is taking shape to accelerate the use of liquid hydrogen in global shipping, with the Zero Emissions Ship Technology Association (ZESTA) announcing the creation of the Global Liquid Hydrogen Alliance.
The initiative is designed to move hydrogen from fragmented pilot projects into a coordinated, scalable fuel system for international maritime transport, at a time when regulatory pressure and investment momentum are both increasing.
The announcement comes in the context of IMO MEPC 84, where the Net Zero Framework for shipping was left unchanged as the foundation for future negotiations. That decision effectively reinforces the likelihood of a globally binding carbon pricing system for the maritime sector in the years ahead.
At the same time, more than 600 hydrogen projects are now underway globally, mainly in Europe and backed by over €175bn in committed investment. However, ZESTA argues that the challenge is no longer ambition or funding, but coordination and system design.
For Madadh MacLaine, co-founder of the Global Liquid Hydrogen Alliance and secretary general of ZESTA, the transition is already underway and the market is beginning to define itself.
She points to forecasts suggesting the liquid hydrogen market could grow from around $9bn today to $19bn by 2032, and exceed $54bn from 2037 onwards, supported by a rapid expansion in liquefaction capacity. In her view, the key question is no longer whether LH2 will scale, but whether the industry builds the right structure to support it.
Unlike broader hydrogen initiatives, the new alliance is focused specifically on pure green hydrogen in liquid form, aiming to create a more transparent and consistent technical and commercial framework that can support investment decisions.
Its work will be structured around four main priorities: establishing a global baseline of technical, safety, logistics and cost data for liquid hydrogen; positioning LH2 as a core energy carrier for long-distance, high-energy shipping routes; accelerating market formation through international alignment; and translating policy momentum into real operational corridors involving ports, vessels and supply chains.
Liquid hydrogen itself is not a new technology. It has been used industrially for more than 60 years, with an established global market valued at around $45bn and existing liquefaction capacity of roughly 600 tonnes per day.
In maritime transport, containerised LH2 shipping using standard 40 foot cryogenic containers is already commercially operational under current regulations. However, deployment remains uneven, with a major gap between regions in terms of infrastructure readiness.
Europe alone, which is expected to account for roughly a third of global hydrogen demand, currently has only around 30 tonnes per day of liquefaction capacity, highlighting the scale of infrastructure still required.
From the operational side, industry voices see shipping as a natural early adopter. According to Karima El Kmiti of Dhamma Sea, maritime transport is already demonstrating that hydrogen can move beyond theory and into real-world decarbonisation projects.
She notes that existing initiatives are proving hydrogen’s role not just as an alternative fuel, but as a viable pathway towards cleaner and more flexible mobility systems in shipping.
