The Green Hydrogen Organisation (GH2), a not-for-profit foundation chaired by former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, has launched a project to develop an accredited global standard for green hydrogen to help accelerate investment in the industry.

The standard would provide investors and consumers with certainty that hydrogen labelled as green is produced by electrolysis powered entirely by renewables.

A lack of transparency around the credentials of some green hydrogen projects has deterred potential investors and offtakers.

“The global Green Hydrogen Standard will provide certainty and transparency to investors and other stakeholders” Turnbull, GH2

Although some projects are planned with dedicated renewable assets, others will be powered by grid electricity generated from a mix of sources. This can lead to uncertainty over how low-carbon some green hydrogen is, impeding market development. 

“In order to scale up the green hydrogen market, GH2 is today launching the development of the global Green Hydrogen Standard, which will provide certainty and transparency to investors and other stakeholders that green hydrogen is exactly that: hydrogen made with renewable electricity which conforms to the highest standards on emissions, ESG and the sustainable development goals,” says Turnbull.

GH2—the board members of which also include carmaker Hyundai, metals company Korea Zinc and Chilean hydrogen association H2 Chile—has called on government, industry and civil society to further define the standard at an initial meeting in Geneva on 1 December.

“We need a global accreditation system for hydrogen that is based on emissions intensity, so that consumers know how much CO₂ and methane emissions are coming from the hydrogen project that you are using,” says Julie Shuttleworth, CEO of Australia-based Fortescue Future Industries, speaking on a panel at Cop26.

Europe already has a liquid market for trading in guarantee-of-origin certificates, which apply to renewable power, and there have been suggestions this system could be extended to provide certification for hydrogen.

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Author: Stuart Penson