The three pillars for green hydrogen in Canada, the EU and US
January 2023
An overview of the some of the regulations being adopted or proposed for what can count as green hydrogen for the purpose of tax incentives or to meet emissions reduction targets in the European Union, the United States and Canada.
A key takeaway is that the “three pillars” of hourly time matching, geographical matching and additionality are emerging as important benchmarks in the development of the green hydrogen industry. There is a growing body of research and advocacy warning that the additional demand for renewable electricity from green hydrogen production will reduce renewable energy consumption in other sectors (which can use renewable energy more efficiently) driving up total emissions. There is also criticism that the overzealous application of these pillars will curtail green hydrogen production and undermine efforts to reduce emissions in hard to abate sectors.