Could Your Hydrogen Production Qualify as Low Carbon?

There’s a key challenge for many hydrogen producers right now: what happens when electrolytic hydrogen production does not fully meet the European Union’s (EU) renewable hydrogen requirements?

Under the EU’s emerging low-carbon hydrogen framework, companies may now have a valuable alternative pathway. And for many organizations, low-carbon hydrogen may also be a more accessible option than fully renewable hydrogen, which implies many extra conditions for the renewable electricity that powers the electrolyzer. For low-carbon electrolytic hydrogen, the focus is on the 70% emission reduction only.

According to Evert Vermaut, Team Lead Sustainability, Division Specialized Services, Vincotte, part of the Kiwa Group, the low-carbon framework could be especially important for companies that cannot consistently produce fully renewable hydrogen.

“If companies are not producing hydrogen that conforms to renewable hydrogen, they may very well be able to meet low-carbon requirements,” he explains. “Therefore, it’s important for companies to qualify the hydrogen as low carbon and get it into the market.”

Moreover, the low-carbon framework opens additional pathways, such as steam methane reforming (SMR) with carbon capture technology.

“Ninety to ninety-five percent of the market's hydrogen is fossil-based, with SMR taking the majority share,” says Evert. “If some of these companies capture the CO2, transport it, and permanently store it, they can have access to low carbon.”

The EU Commission has also projected to look into low-carbon hydrogen produced with nuclear energy, the so-called “pink” hydrogen. However, this framework still has to be developed and published.

Kiwa has been a recognized certification body for one and a half years for the voluntary certification scheme CertifHy. Through this scheme, we can support companies preparing for the low-carbon hydrogen certification requirements. Pre-certification of electrolytic low-carbon hydrogen is expected to begin in September 2026, with official certification anticipated by the beginning of 2027, depending on when the EU Commission will recognize CertifHy for its low-carbon scheme.

“When you’ve done a pre-certification with us, investors and customers can see that an independent third party has already assessed your production against the upcoming criteria. That gives much more confidence in the market.”

Pre-certification may also help companies access hydrogen trading platforms and prepare for future low-carbon incentive mechanisms.

Are you interested in learning more about how Kiwa can help your organization prepare for low-carbon hydrogen certification? You are welcome to make contact with Evert Vermaut, Team Lead Sustainability, Division Specialized Services, Vincotte, to discuss possibilities for your company: evermaut@vincotte.be