Certificates

Certification is an essential element of any industry, especially a nascent one such as hydrogen. Certificates for hydrogen and its derivatives contain information on compliance with standards and regulatory requirements, and enable verification through data on sustainability criteria, such as the carbon footprint and renewable energy content, thereby allowing differentiation from other less green products. To be effective, certificates must use a strong and reliable tracking system across the entire value chain, and be consistent, accurate and accepted by all market participants. They will typically be managed by non-profit organisations or other official entities, with industry backing.

Certificates are essential for the massive deployment and uptake of green hydrogen, as well as for the establishment of national, regional and international green hydrogen markets. Certificates are a way to assure consumers that the hydrogen they buy contributes to decarbonisation efforts. At the same time, certificates provide a marketable characteristic to producers of green hydrogen. Several potential hydrogen exporter and importer countries, including Australia, the European Union, Germany, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, have already included certification schemes in their hydrogen strategies (Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, 2022; European Commission, 2023).