Green Hydrogen Production

The Green Hydrogen Production methodology is a Paris Agreement Aligned (PAA) framework designed to accelerate the transition from fossil-fuel-intensive hydrogen production to low-carbon alternatives.

This methodology establishes a rigorous system for quantifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions from water electrolysis. By replacing conventional industrial processes with green hydrogen technology, project activities ensure high environmental integrity and full compliance with the latest global standards for credible carbon accounting and climate ambition.

• Supports Industrial Decarbonisation: Green hydrogen helps reduce emissions in existing hydrogen-consuming sectors, such as refining, ammonia production, methanol, and chemicals, and in hard-to-abate applications like steel and shipping fuels.
• Renewable Electricity Integrity: The methodology sets requirements to ensure electricity for hydrogen production is credibly renewable, traceable, deliverable, temporally matched, and is not claimed elsewhere.
• Water Safeguards: These safeguards ensure green hydrogen production does not adversely affect local water availability, communities, ecosystems, or other essential water users.
• Paris Agreement Alignment: To ensure credited emission reductions remain below business-as-usual over time, the methodology requires conservative baseline setting, downward adjustment factors, and reassessment at crediting period renewal.

1.   Renewable Energy Implementation Bottlenecks: The methodology requires the Commercial Operation Date (COD) of dedicated renewable energy (RE) facilities to be within 36 months of the hydrogen plant’s start date.

1. Is this 36-month window technically and regulatorily feasible across all jurisdictions, specifically regarding utility, grid connection and permitting delays?

If not feasible, propose alternatives or specific exception criteria (e.g. clearly defined external delays beyond the project developer’s control) that would maintain additionality while accounting for external bottlenecks. Please provide evidence of standard permitting timelines in your region to justify any suggested extensions.

2.   Temporal Matching Phasing: The methodology proposes hourly matching.

• Does this approach provide a pragmatic entry point for projects in regions with poor utility data availability?
• Suggest alternative, data-driven solutions for ensuring physical integrity (e.g., using proxy grid-intensity data) if hourly matching remains unavailable. Provide technical evidence on the cost-to-integrity trade-offs of monthly vs. hourly matching.