HYDROGEN CERTIFICATION: Hydrogen market moves forward with CertifHy MoU

Jake Stones

01-Dec-2022

LONDON(ICIS)–Hydrogen certification consortium, CertifHy, announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Roundtable on Sustainable Materials (RSB) on 30 November, progressing the development of a global and European hydrogen market.

CertifHy is a hydrogen certification scheme created at the request of the European Commission and is led by energy transition specialists HINICIO, while RSB is a global certification company for alternative fuels and materials.

Under the MoU the two certification systems will form an Impact Alliance aimed at accelerating the use of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) as specified in the Renewable Energy Directive recast (RED II). RFNBO are also commonly referred to as renewable hydrogen.

ICIS data shows that hydrogen projects aligned to RED II RFNBO criteria coming online in 2026 would have production costs of €5.56/kg, based on the ICIS offshore wind project breakeven assessment using a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

HYDROGEN MARKET ENABLER

Due to the many different ways hydrogen can be produced, and therefore the multiple carbon footprints hydrogen can carry, certification has often been regarded as a key component to facilitate hydrogen trade.

When speaking to ICIS, CertifHy project coordinator Matthieu Boisson said that hydrogen certification was “crucial for the development of the clean hydrogen market globally. It is the enabler of the different legislations in Europe and beyond.”

As well as this, Boisson noted the importance of certificates for supply expansion, highlighting that they “improve the ability of hydrogen project developers to offer products which are fit to the market.”

This means a project developer can sell its hydrogen with an appropriate certificate that reflects the carbon content and processes associated with production. This could in theory mean that one project which went to greater expense to meet stricter production criteria can then stand out as providing cleaner, lower carbon hydrogen molecules.

GLOBAL HYDROGEN MARKET

Because of its importance to the hydrogen market, certification has been mentioned by policy makers and legislators globally. Although this shows support for certificate programmes to be installed, it also raises potential questions regarding consistency.

When discussing global alignment, Boisson said that “[global] policies are made out of a very complex mix of global decarbonisation needs and local industrial strategy. So several certification systems will likely be needed to enable those multiple markets.”

Boisson explained to ICIS that “CertifHy is first going to focus on hydrogen and synthetic fuels consumed in Europe (including import from outside of the EU), but we have a global ambition and will look to create certification systems when needed.”

The MoU includes plans for CertifHy and RSB to collaborate on offerings to prove compliance with the German global hydrogen import scheme H2Global.

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