Economies of scale of LH2 transportation: An open-source LH2 tanker ship design model incorporating ship CAPEX and OPEX

Economies of scale of LH2 transportation: An open-source LH2 tanker ship design model incorporating ship CAPEX and OPEX | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Economies of scale of LH 2 transportation: An open-source LH 2 tanker ship design model incorporating ship CAPEX and OPEX Kamini Singh, S Viswanathan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6374579/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study presents an open-source ship design model for calculating the overall shipping cost of liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ). A weight-based ship design model is proposed to accommodate the lower volumetric density of LH 2 , ensuring cryogenic storage facilities at -253˚C and special equipment to minimize boil-off of gases during sea sloshing. The model evaluates the total cost of shipping LH 2 in two parts: fixed and variable costs. Fixed cost is the overall capital expenditure (CAPEX), which accounts for ship design, hull weight, machinery, and other weights. In contrast, the total operating expenditure (OPEX) is variable cost, which includes port cost, fuel cost, maintenance cost, and other on-board costs. The ship CAPEX and OPEX models are developed and validated considering the 280000m 3 ‘JAMILA’ ship as the base case and then extended to other LH 2 ship capacities of 70000m 3 , 140000m 3 , and 420000m 3 . Unlike the previous research in the literature, our model can be used to calculate shipping costs for different ship sizes, thereby enabling evaluation of the benefits of economies of scale. International Economics Energy Engineering Development Economics LH2 shipping cost LH2 tankers ship design model ship CAPEX ship OPEX economies of scale Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6374579","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":438344511,"identity":"e618f16c-9d28-4d4e-9b71-152f8da8dde7","order_by":0,"name":"Kamini Singh","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA/klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACCSA+wGDAwMAGQh8gggbEa2GcAVFNWAsMsDHzEKNFsv104uGCAgZ7Pun2a49td/xJbGBv3ibB8KcWpxZpntwNh2cYMCS2yZwpN849Y5DYwHOsTIKx7ThOLXIMQC08BgwJbBI5adK5bUAtEjlmEowNx3Br4X8L1mIP1mIJ0iL/xgzoMNxapCUgtjC2SaQfk2YE28ID1MJWg9v7M8C2SCS2SeSwSfa2GRu38aQVWyS2HcCpReJ87ubPPH9s7OVnpD+T+NkmJ9vPfnjjjQ9/6nBqgekEYh5IdLCBiASGw4S0gAD7A2QeQVtGwSgYBaNg5AAA4mNMfiGd+HcAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3559-6604","institution":"Nanyang Technical university","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kamini","middleName":"","lastName":"Singh","suffix":""},{"id":438344512,"identity":"6ea01c19-76f2-4435-a0d2-bd958ee1520a","order_by":1,"name":"S Viswanathan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nanyang Technical University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"S","middleName":"","lastName":"Viswanathan","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-04 08:42:39","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6374579/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6374579/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":80014901,"identity":"4b9aeb92-6c63-4a1d-8ddc-19e48de0b53e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-07 03:03:31","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1113474,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"EOSofLH2transportationsubmissionfile221024.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6374579/v1_covered_58885256-b070-44c7-bb1a-f0a7d3eccdef.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eEconomies of scale of LH\u003csub\u003e2 \u003c/sub\u003etransportation: An open-source LH\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e tanker ship design model incorporating ship CAPEX and OPEX\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Nanyang Technical University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"LH2 shipping cost, LH2 tankers, ship design model, ship CAPEX, ship OPEX, economies of scale","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6374579/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6374579/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study presents an open-source ship design model for calculating the overall shipping cost of liquid hydrogen (LH\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e). A weight-based ship design model is proposed to accommodate the lower volumetric density of LH\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e, ensuring cryogenic storage facilities at -253˚C and special equipment to minimize boil-off of gases during sea sloshing. The model evaluates the total cost of shipping LH\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e in two parts: fixed and variable costs. Fixed cost is the overall capital expenditure (CAPEX), which accounts for ship design, hull weight, machinery, and other weights. In contrast, the total operating expenditure (OPEX) is variable cost, which includes port cost, fuel cost, maintenance cost, and other on-board costs. The ship CAPEX and OPEX models are developed and validated considering the 280000m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e ‘JAMILA’ ship as the base case and then extended to other LH\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e ship capacities of 70000m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e, 140000m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e, and 420000m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e. Unlike the previous research in the literature, our model can be used to calculate shipping costs for different ship sizes, thereby enabling evaluation of the benefits of economies of scale.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Economies of scale of LH2 transportation: An open-source LH2 tanker ship design model incorporating ship CAPEX and OPEX","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-04-07 02:39:25","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6374579/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"aa3321b6-0df1-4d0a-8286-aa03f8caef1f","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 7th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":46677012,"name":"International Economics"},{"id":46677013,"name":"Energy Engineering"},{"id":46677014,"name":"Development Economics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-04-07T02:39:25+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-04-07 02:39:25","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6374579","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6374579","identity":"rs-6374579","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}