GUTcert confirms that hydrogen production at Energiepark Bad Lauchstädt meets European RFNBO criteria
Energiepark Bad Lauchstädt is RFNBO-certified. In early August, the certification body GUTcert GmbH issued the certificate, confirming that hydrogen production at the Energiepark meets European requirements for renewable hydrogen. For the real-world laboratory, the certificate represents an important step in the production stage of the value chain: the hydrogen produced in future may now officially be designated and marketed as a sustainable product.
What the certificate confirms
RFNBO stands for “Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin.” It refers to a European regulatory framework that precisely defines the conditions under which hydrogen can be recognized as a renewable fuel of non-biological origin. Not every hydrogen produced from renewable electricity automatically meets these criteria.
The audit verified, among other things, that the electricity used actually comes from renewable sources, that the greenhouse gas savings requirements applicable to RFNBO production are met, and that all relevant steps along the value chain can be documented without gaps and independently verified.
The climate impact of hydrogen production is also considered as part of the certification: RFNBOs must achieve greenhouse gas savings of at least 70 percent compared to the reference value established for fossil fuels.
The certificate is valid for one year and is subsequently renewed in a recertification audit.
“The certification was teamwork across company boundaries. Uniper and VNG Handel & Vertrieb prepared the entire process together, from data collection through risk management to audit coordination. The work does not end with the issuance. From the start of production, consumption and production data must be carefully documented and allocated at all times and are subject to annual review,” explains Laura Härter, Audit Coordination, VNG Handel & Vertrieb GmbH.
What this changes
For the Energiepark, certification is more than a formal proof: it creates the foundation for the hydrogen produced to realize its regulatory and economic value in the market. Only certified hydrogen can be credited by off-takers toward statutory requirements and traded as a sustainable product in the market.
This primarily concerns the anchor customer, the TotalEnergies refinery in Leuna, which will receive the hydrogen produced at the Energiepark via a converted gas pipeline approximately 25 kilometers long. RFNBO certification thus becomes an important link between production at the Energiepark and subsequent industrial use.
“Renewable hydrogen only has an impact where it replaces fossil energy carriers. The certificate makes this step possible: it is the prerequisite for our off-takers to actually use and credit it. To date, only a few projects in Germany have provided this proof. What we have learned in the process, we are bringing into the further ramp-up,” says Xenia Papst, Senior Commercial Manager Hydrogen Germany at Uniper and Managing Director of Elektrolyse Mitteldeutschland GmbH (EMG).
The Energiepark consortium is thereby gaining practical experience in an area in which only a few projects in Germany currently hold RFNBO certification. The insights from implementation can help to further establish processes for the certification and marketing of renewable hydrogen in future and thus also support the further ramp-up of the hydrogen economy.
