International GO scheme vital to future green hydrogen trade: IRENA

The development of green hydrogen trade between countries is reliant on an international guarantees of origin scheme agreed by all key proponents, intergovernmental organization the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said March 9.

As countries such as Chile, Australia, Canada and Norway develop large electrolysis capacity, they will look to export surplus green hydrogen, IRENA Associate Programme Officer Emanuele Bianco said, while potential importers include Germany, Japan and South Korea.

"In order for this trade to actually happen in the next decade, in the next 20 years – in a way that is not only from the consumer to the producer but in a spot market – we will need to have a label that informs us about the CO2 emissions," Bianco said.

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Without such a scheme there would be unfair competition from conventional or "grey" hydrogen, Bianco said, noting high costs along the renewable hydrogen value chain today were the main barrier to building volumes.

If companies or countries want to import green hydrogen, there will be a need for agreement between all the parties involved, he said.

"It's likely that if not global, then a good guarantees of origin scheme will involve many countries – at least those within the same value chain," he said.

IRENA in November published a green hydrogen guide to policy making, setting out what it sees as four key policy pillars for developing hydrogen markets.

A guarantees of origin scheme is one of these, along with national strategies, establishing policy priorities for green hydrogen, and a governance system with enabling policies.

IRENA sees hydrogen as one strand of effective decarbonization, alongside renewables, widespread electrification, and energy efficiency improvements.

"European GOs for hydrogen are getting a lot of attention, but equally Platts is very interested in the conversation around carbon intensity," S&P Global Platts Hydrogen Content Pricing Specialist Jeff McDonald said.

"Measuring carbon intensity and creating a value for carbon separate from the molecule itself may lead to greater fungibility and liquidity in the marketplace, and create a more efficient market over time," he said.

EU hydrogen GO

Public-private partnership the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) in October appointed a consortium to establish harmonized hydrogen guarantees of origin schemes across Europe and beyond, named CertifHy 3. The project builds on a pilot launched in 2018.

The FCH JU comprises the European Commission, industry body Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research.

The CertifHy consortium includes the Association of Issuing Bodies, which represents European issuing bodies for renewable electricity GOs, and several gas GO issuing bodies.

The scheme will be piloted in Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands, and will be compliant with article 19 in the EU Renewable Energy Directive, RED II.

"CertifHy 3 will build a certification system for RED II-compliant renewable transport fuels," it said.

RED II raises the overall EU target for renewable energy sources consumption by 2030 to 32%.

The CertifHy consortium is also establishing a project with Morocco to pilot a cross-border GO transaction with the EU.