I think that's only half the truth. Even if we have to convert our entire energy supply, we will still have to import hydrogen, at least in Europe. We have as much sun here as they do in Mordor. So there will be massive shipments of ammonia from the south to us. Forty per cent is therefore probably a little too high
this post was submitted on 06 Mar 2026
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What does hydrogen have to do with the Sun? You can produce the energy necessary for electrolisis from many other sources. Also there was a plan to make a hydroduct from France to Spain to transport green/pink hydrogen.
What are yall doing with that hydrogen?
I think UK is blending it into their methane supply to reduce carbon emissions.
Did you perhaps mean hydrocarbons (organic compounds used for fertilizer and fuel) instead of hydrogen (most common element in the universe, 2/3s the atoms and 1/9th the mass of water)
I don't doubt that it's a lot, but can anyone provide a source for the 40% of global ship traffic? I couldn't find any statistics sadly
The data is from UNCTAD
Small clarification. My understanding is that it's 40% by weight of goods carried, not 40% of ships. So still massive chunk, but not quite the same metric. Also some of those ships would still presumably be needed to move batteries and solar panels, At least for a while until we have enough for a closed loop recycling system (we can recycle like 99% of the lithium from lithium batteries, no idea how emerging sodium batteries will affect things)
You need to move batteries and panels ONCE per installation, not every time you need energy.
Sodium based battery companies are, unfortunately, crashing right now, since lithium production has jumped so significantly that lithium prices have seen a major crash. Since price was the main economic driver for sodium batteries over lithium ones, many companies making sodium batteries are in big trouble right now, since lithium is more energy dense and at price parity
Excellent explanation! Thank you :)
Do you happen to know how battery or fuel cell ships are doing atm?
There are some, but afaik they weren't ready for global shipment yet, but more local, due to range.
If you want green cargo shipping, it might be better to look to the past. Way back in the day, all shipping was very green, powered by wind. Maybe we could have a return of sailing ships?
Though, of course, sails do have some big disadvantages, which is why they were replaced in the first place. You'd definitely want an electric (or even fossil fuel) powertrain available to use as a backup or in emergencies. But when winds are favorable, why not set sail and let very green wind energy propel you across the ocean? As an extra bonus, sails are cheap and a very mature, well-understood technology. All you need to do is scale them up.
The biggest difference at the end of the day is that sailing ships are generally slower and require much more crew. So overseas shipping would be slower and possibly more expensive. (Though the massive fuel savings might offset the expense somewhat?) But I don't necessarily think that slower and more expensive overseas shipping would be such a bad thing in the long run. It would encourage more local production and consumption.
Lol, I didn't even consider sails.
Perhaps crew could be reduced with some form of automated sails? I dunno most of the terms, but can't a motor set and unset the sail? Perhaps make the mast retractable and such things.
I forget the article I read about 3 years ago about a modern cargo ship using sails to reduce the amount of fuel they use. Can't find it now but if I can find it I'll try and post it in an edit here
I saw some science-entertainment videos. There's also these rotating "sail" cylinders. Most of it sounded not viable for mass transport and more like PoC or tryout state.
I didn't sorry.