International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy

Report updated in May 2026

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This report compares 28 certification schemes at global scale, addressing hydrogen and its derivatives. It presents the methodology and results of the comparison, and introduces recommendations from the IPHE Hydrogen Certification Mechanisms Task Force.

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This report is the second edition of the comparison and is recommended to be read in conjunction with the Hydrogen Certification 101 (a paper providing definitions and descriptions of many terms and concepts relevant for hydrogen certification). For further information on schemes, the underlying data used for the report can be found in an online inventory that has been developed in parallel, and is regularly updated. The current version of the report compares a total of 21 certification schemes and 7 support mechanisms across 11 countries or regions.

 

4 key elements are considered:

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1. Product attributes;

2. Operational setup and procedures;

3. Chain of custody model;

4. Information technology used for the registry.

 

The comparison shows not only considerable variation in the availability of information but also considerable differences between the analysed certification schemes. Whenever differences between schemes are expected to have a high impact on tradability, the report identifies options to improve tradability of certified hydrogen.

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Overall, the task force regards progress towards enabling tradability of certified hydrogen not as a continuous trajectory but as an incremental process, with the need to achieve a certain degree of commonality within a key element in order to have measurable improvements in tradability. For that purpose, the report proposes a modular approach, entailing modules with common and modules with jurisdiction-specific modules. It outlines 2 options for common modules:​

• A simpler option with fewer items agreed upon in the common modules;

• A more ambitious option with a more comprehensive agreement on the content within common modules.

 

Both approaches could be implemented in the form of a digital product passport for hydrogen and its derivatives that contains or is linked to the necessary information. The current edition of the report includes a comparison of six initiatives for such a digital product passport, providing information on:

• The purpose of a digital product passport for hydrogen;

• The difference between product passports and certification;

• The role that a digital product passport can play in facilitating trade of certified hydrogen.

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Finally, the report highlights potential interactions between hydrogen certification schemes and other up and downstream certification schemes, such as schemes for electricity and steel.

 

The full Report on Comparison of Certification Schemes is available here.

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