The Green Hydrogen Standard was launched at the Green Hydrogen Global Assembly hosted by the Spanish government in Barcelona. In the first global effort of its kind, green hydrogen projects that meet the Green Hydrogen Standard (“the standard”) will be licensed by the Green Hydrogen Organisation (GH2) to use the label “GH2 Green Hydrogen” and will be eligible to obtain and trade GH2 certificates of origin for green hydrogen and derivatives such as green ammonia.
Malcolm Turnbull, GH2 Chair and former Australian Prime Minister said: “The Green Hydrogen Organisation is working to dramatically accelerate the uptake of green hydrogen to rapidly phase out fossil fuels in industries like steel, cement, fertilizers, shipping and aviation. In order to scale up the green hydrogen market, GH2 is today launching the Green Hydrogen Standard. The Standard provides 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.”
Green Hydrogen Industry leaders welcomed the launch:
Dr Andrew Forrest, founder of Fortescue Future Industries and founding member of the GH2 Board said: “The inextricable march of green hydrogen has been further strengthened by the global acceptance of the GH2 Standard which will ensure people get what they think they are paying for – a fuel which does not harm the planet. Anyone who talks blue or any other colour as “green” is out to mislead firstly their customers and secondly, and much worse, the local community and global public. This must be called for what it is: greenwashing”.
Martina Merz, CEO of thyssenkrupp said: “Hydrogen is going to play a decisive role on the way to a more sustainable world, and is one of the energy carriers of the future. It is therefore extremely important to create appropriate structures for the development and rapid ramp-up of a global hydrogen infrastructure. I am convinced that the Green Hydrogen Standard will help to make green hydrogen a commodity, to set the commercial stage through defining green hydrogen and to extend global collaboration. Therefore, thyssenkrupp wishes to actively help shape the GH2 standard in a way that serves this goal and will promote its acceptance”.
Lei Zhang, founder and CEO of Envision, said: “This standard sets a clear benchmark for green hydrogen as the world’s ‘new oil’, along with net zero industrial parks as the ‘new infrastructure’. Taken together they will accelerate the drive towards green industrialisation, increase market confidence and support the global energy transition.”
Kristian Røkke, CEO of Aker Horizons, said: “Establishing a standard and certification methods will help build confidence in the market for buyers of green hydrogen. As a global hydrogen producer, we view this as an important step towards accelerating the deployment of green hydrogen, which will be critical to reaching net zero.”
Maria Paz de la Cruz, CEO of H2 Chile and member of the GH2 board said: “The launch of GH2’s Green Hydrogen Standard is great news for the industry. It will enable countries like Chile to trade its competitive products together with providing certainty to consumers about the compliance of strong sustainability criteria”.
Ronald Grasman, Vice President, H2 Fuel Cell business development, Hyundai Motor Company said: “We believe that the Green Hydrogen Organisation’s effort to accelerate the spread of green hydrogen is also one of the important pillars, and we are confident that these efforts will bring forth carbon neutrality in the future”.
Jonas Moberg, GH2’s CEO said: “GH2 focuses exclusively on green hydrogen made from renewable energy. In contrast to disingenuous efforts to rebrand fossil-fuel based hydrogen as ‘clean hydrogen’, GH2’s standard ensures close to zero emissions, adherence to environment, social and governances standards, and maximising the development potential of green hydrogen in developing and emerging economies.
“Transparency and collaboration are core principles of GH2’s work”, said Jonas Moberg. “We look forward to working with government, industry and civil society on the implementation and further refinement of the Standard”.
