The purpose of this research was to derive promising technologies for the transport of hydrogen fuel cells, thereby supporting the development of research and development policy and presenting directions for investment. We also provide researchers with information about technology that will lead the technology field in the future. Hydrogen energy, as the core of carbon neutral and green energy, is a major issue in changing the future industrial structure and national competitive advantage. In this study, we derived promising technology at the core of future hydrogen fuel cell transportation using the published US patent and paper databases (DB). We first performed text mining and data preprocessing and then discovered promising technologies through generative topographic mapping analysis. We analyzed both the patent DB and treatise DB in parallel and compared the results. As a result, two promising technologies were derived from the patent DB analysis, and five were derived from the paper DB analysis.

Hydrogen energy, one of the energy sources of the future, represents a substantial issue which affects the industries and national technologies that will develop in the future. In order to utilize hydrogen energy, a hydrogen supply chain is required so that hydrogen can be processed and transported to vehicles. It is helpful for technology and policy development to analyze technologies necessary to charge the hydrogen energy generated into vehicles through the supply chain to discover technologies with high potential for future development. The purpose of this paper is to identify promising technologies required in storing, transporting, and charging vehicles generated by the hydrogen fuel supply chain. Afterward, the promising technologies identified are expected to help researchers set a direction in researching technologies and developing related policies. Therefore, we provide technology information that can be used promisingly in the future so that researchers in the related field can utilize it effectively. In this paper, data analysis is performed using related patents and research papers for technical analysis. Promising technologies that will be the core of the hydrogen fuel supply chain in the future were identified using the published patents and research paper database (DB) in Korea, the United States, Europe, China, and Japan. A text mining technique was applied to preprocess data, and then a generic topographic map (GTM) analysis discovered promising technologies. Then, a technology roadmap was identified by analyzing the promising technology derived from patents and research papers in parallel. In this study, through the analysis of patents and research papers related to the hydrogen supply chain, the development status of hydrogen storage/transport/charging technology was analyzed, and promising technologies with high potential for future development were found. The technology roadmap derived from the analysis can help researchers in the field of hydrogen research establish policies and research technologies.