Assessing emission certification schemes for grid-connected hydrogen in Australia

Australia is a major exporter of energy and ores, and it has ambitions to become a renewable energy superpower by providing commodities with low embedded greenhouse gas emissions. Certification of low-emissions products is crucial to attract a price premium for green products in international markets. However, certification should not impose undue regulatory burden or increase production costs. Here, we employ energy system modelling and evaluate how different policy choices affect the accuracy of certified emissions methods and the cost of hydrogen produced by grid-connected electrolysers in Australia. The results show that emissions are not always accurately accounted for under the currently proposed Australian methodologies. However, imposing geographic and relaxed temporal correlation requirements on the use of renewable energy certificates could be sufficient to ensure minimal emissions at low cost. Our study provides evidence to assist in the design of robust and practical certification schemes. In Australia, the geographic and relaxed temporal requirements for the use of renewable energy certificates could ensure that hydrogen is produced with minimal greenhouse gas emissions and at a low cost, according to an analysis that employs an energy system model and scenario approach