Energy | Other
Renewable hydrogen and the “additionality” requirement : why making it more complex than is needed?
15 September 2021

Authors: POTOTSCHNIG, Alberto

Additionality is a key requirement for the renewables based electricity to be used by electrolysers to produce renewable hydrogen. Additionality could be defined as the requirement that renewables-based electricity used in electrolysers for the production of renewable hydrogen is additional to the renewables-based electricity which is used to meet the renewable penetration target with respect to final electricity consumption. Different approaches to additionality have been considered in the debate over the last year. All of them require some degree of temporal (and geographical) correlation between the consumption of electricity by the electrolysers and the generation of the additional renewables-based electricity. This Policy Brief questions whether a degree of temporal correlation is really necessary to ensure the additionality of the renewables-based electricity consumed by the electrolysers. The additionality of the renewables-based electricity consumed by the electrolysers could be ensured over a year-long period, in line with the way in which the general renewable energy penetration target is defined, by the implementation of a system based on guarantees of renewable origin. Such an approach would also facilitate the operation of electrolysers at their optimal utilisation rate.
logo cadmus Read it on Cadmus Download in open access

LATEST FSR PUBLICATIONS

Article
The International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s Advisory Opinion on Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change, delivered on July 23, 2025, 1 marks a pivotal moment in international climate [...]
Working Paper
The electricity market design reform repositioned capacity markets: they are no longer regarded as last-resort, temporary measures. In practice, their perimeter is also expected to expand, with at least seven [...]
Article
This article provides an overview of the most relevant cases decided by the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning contract law. The present issue covers the period between [...]

Join our community

To meet, discuss and learn in the channel that suits you best.

scroll

top