Green hydrogen certification

The demand for green hydrogen in the industry is increasing worldwide. At TÜV Rheinland, we are providing active support for the development of hydrogen as an energy carrier of the future. We are now offering to the industry, market players and interested parties a new practice-oriented specification for the certification of green hydrogen: the TÜV Rheinland Standard H2.21 Renewable and Low-Carbon Hydrogen Fuels.

It allows you as a manufacturer, distributor or user of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen to document its environmentally friendly production, whereby strengthening the confidence of your customers in your actions and securing an advantage over your competitors.

In line with current regulatory development in EU, this TÜV Rheinland Standard H2.21 defines a Greenhouse gas emission reduction threshold of 70% of the Comparator Value (94 g CO₂-eq/MJ) and differentiates between two major Hydrogen classifications, namely:

1. Renewable Hydrogen addresses hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water or aqueous solutions (e.g., chlor-alkali electrolysis) with the use of electricity from renewable non-biological sources. The reduction target must be at least 70% of the Comparator Value (94 g CO₂-eq/MJ) as specified in RED II*.
2. Low Carbon Hydrogen addresses all hydrogen production routes and therefore enables all technologies and processes to be subjected to certification. The reduction target must be at least 70% of the Comparator Value (94 g CO₂-eq/MJ).

In addition, by fulfilling other specific criteria, the following optional additional criteria can be certified as: Green Hydrogen, RFNBO**, Blue Hydrogen (CCS/CCU), Turquoise Hydrogen, Pink Hydrogen, Carbon Neutral Hydrogen.

The standard is also applicable for hydrogen derivatives, such as ammonia, methane and methanol, namely Hydrogen Derivatives.

You can download the TÜV Rheinland standard H2.21 Renewable and Low-Carbon Hydrogen Fuels here.

*RED II: Renewable Energy Directive (Version II) Standard (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. It includes supplementing Directives (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (RED II, Article 28, Delegated Acts), as well as their Annex, and RED II amendments.
**RFNBO: Renewable fuels of non-biological origin – based on RED II Art.2§35

Hydrogen is considered an indispensable component for the achievement of the Paris climate targets by science, industry and politics. Hydrogen is a high-energy gas that emits no CO₂ during combustion and material use. It is thus fundamentally suited to be used as a climate-protecting alternative to fossil fuels. The European Green Deal and Germany's National Hydrogen Strategy, for example, take this into account and promote Hydrogen as a future energy carrier in the context of their broader climate policy. However, the production of Hydrogen is very energy intensive and conventionally based on fossil energy carriers. Therefore, only the sustainable production and application of Hydrogen has the potential to displace fossil-based energy carriers and consequently reduce greenhouse gases. The corresponding certification provides hydrogen owners with an independent and internationally recognized verification of emission reductions by the use of their hydrogen or hydrogen derivatives.

Our certification looks at the production process from the beginning all the way to your individual delivery point. Any and all…

• Production methods (e. g. electrolysis, steam reforming, pyrolysis etc.),
• Transport methods (e. g. gas networks/pipelines, hydrogen tanks, etc.)
• Applications of hydrogen (e. g. powering mobility, low-CO₂ production in the industry, generation of electricity and heat, etc.) can be verified and certified. It is also possible to certify only individual parts of the supply chain. We coordinate your individual needs and requirements with you as part of a requirement analysis.

Regardless of the life cycle stage of the hydrogen (production, distribution, use) – with our certification for renewable and low-carbon hydrogen fuels, you provide evidence that you, as the owner, are supplying the hydrogen to the recipient in a climate-neutral manner.

With the certification of a carbon-friendly production of hydrogen, you transparently and independently document that an energy supply with environmentally friendly products is possible. At the same time, you communicate your company's sustainability strategy to the outside world, whereby sending environmentally friendly signals and demonstrating your contribution to a sustainable energy supply. This not only provides you with a competitive edge, but also strengthens the trust of your customers and business partners.

Upon successful certification, we will present you with our certificate and with the right to use our test mark. The "key words" in our test mark document the test contents of the certification and make them transparent to everyone. Depending on the key components of the audit, we award the test mark with the following key words:

Renewable Hydrogen addresses hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water or aqueous solutions (e.g., chlor-alkali electrolysis) with the use of electricity from renewable non-biological sources. The reduction target must be at least 70% of the Comparator Value (94 g CO₂-eq/MJ)

• Green Hydrogen: Renewable Hydrogen is produced by the electrolysis of water or aqueous solutions (e.g., chlor-alkali electrolysis) with the use of electricity from renewable non-biological sources only
• RFNBO (RED II): Renewable Hydrogen meets additional criteria mentioned in EU RED II Delegated Acts

Low Carbon Hydrogen addresses all hydrogen production routes and therefore enables all technologies and processes to be subjected to certification. The reduction target must be at least 70% of the Comparator Value (94 g CO₂-eq/MJ).

• Blue Hydrogen (CCS): The CO₂ produced during the manufacturing of the Low Carbon Hydrogen is captured and permanently stored (Carbon Capture and Storage/ CCS)
• Blue Hydrogen (CCU): if the CO₂ off-gases produced during the manufacturing of the Low Carbon Hydrogen are captured and processed, Hydrogen can qualify as being Blue if these CO₂ off-gases are either chemically or minerally fixed permanently
• Turquoise Hydrogen: Low Carbon Hydrogen is produced by methane pyrolysis and the resulting elemental carbon can be permanently fixed
• Pink Hydrogen: Low Carbon Hydrogen is produced by the electrolysis of water or aqueous solutions (e.g., chlor-alkali electrolysis) with the use of electricity from nuclear sources.

On an industrial scale, hydrogen can be produced using various methods. Depending on the method of production and also on the handling of the resulting CO₂ emissions, the hydrogen is assigned different colors.