<p>The transportation of hydrogen via steel pipelines is vital for future energy infrastructure, but it is hindered by hydrogen embrittlement, which degrades the steel’s mechanical properties. This study investigates the role of microstructural features, such as dislocation density, grain size, and crystallographic texture, on hydrogen uptake, retention, and desorption in pipeline steels under gaseous and electrochemical hydrogen charging environments. Experimental methods, such as electron backscatter diffraction and thermal desorption analysis, were employed on steel samples obtained after various thermomechanical treatments. The results reveal that increased defect density on the steel surface significantly enhances hydrogen adsorption and uptake, with dislocations playing a more critical role. Harsh electrolytes like 0.1&#xa0;M H₂SO₄ + NH₄SCN promote the accumulation of hydrogen on the steel surface, unlike during gaseous charging or charging in 0.1-M NaOH electrolyte, due to differences in hydrogen fugacity. Furthermore, a denser accumulation of hydrogen on the surface occurs with increasing surface defect density. Notably, the thermal desorption results exhibited remarkable similarities between gaseous charging and 0.1-M NaOH electrolyte charging in terms of desorption behavior and trap activation, indicating the possibility of achieving equivalence between the two charging methods.</p>