The Australian government has opened a consultation on a certification scheme for Hydrogen Guarantees of Origin (GO).
On 21 June, it outlined how the proposed scheme – which was cited as a priority action in Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy – will be key when it comes to giving purchasers transparency as Australia and the world strive to facilitate clean hydrogen trade. It will measure and track carbon emissions from hydrogen production, allowing customers who buy hydrogen in future to choose the product that best aligns with their needs. It will cover hydrogen produced from electrolysis, coal gasification with carbon capture and storage (CCS) and steam methane reforming with CCS and could include more over time.
As a starting point, a well-to-gate boundary is being proposed, allowing a domestic scheme to quickly establish itself while aligning with international frameworks. This would include all upstream emissions associated with supply of feedstocks and emissions that are incurred during hydrogen production.
The intention is for the scheme to be built on over time to form a broader framework, one that can guarantee the origin of a range of decarbonised or low emission products. With hydrogen to be an internationally traded commodity and Australia having the potential to be a major exporter, the methodology underpinning hydrogen GO schemes must be consistent to enable an accurate comparison of hydrogen produced by different countries.
The Australian government pledged to provide a trial of a hydrogen guarantee of origin scheme in its 2021-22 Budget, with the results from the consultation – which will run until 30 July – to inform a trial phase set to be launched in the latter half of 2021.
