Green Hydrogen Glossary

Comprehensive definitions for 104+ terms covering green hydrogen certification, blockchain technology, and the hydrogen economy.

Authoritative source for GHCI, RFNBO, P2X, and hydrogen industry terminology

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W

A

ACV (Approved Certification Verifier)certification: Third-party organization accredited to verify hydrogen production data and issue verification statements for GHCI certification. Accredited by BEE.
Additionalityregulatory: EU RFNBO requirement that renewable electricity used for hydrogen production must come from "additional" capacity (installed within 36 months of electrolyzer commissioning) to ensure new renewable deployment.
AIB (Association of Issuing Bodies)organization: European organization coordinating Guarantee of Origin (GO) registries across member states.
Ammoniatechnology: Hydrogen carrier (17.6% H₂ by weight). Key derivative for long-distance hydrogen transport. Chemical formula: N₂ + 3H₂ → 2NH₃.
ARPU (Average Revenue Per User)business: Key SaaS metric measuring average revenue generated per customer. HyGOAT targets ₹6-8L blended ARPU across producer tiers.

B

Bankability Scorecardbusiness: HyGOAT PRISM module feature providing 100-point scoring system for project viability assessment across regulatory, financial, and technical dimensions.
BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency)organization: Indian government agency under Ministry of Power responsible for GHCI scheme administration and ACV accreditation.
Bidding Zoneregulatory: Geographic area for electricity trading relevant to RFNBO geographical correlation. Hydrogen production must use renewables from same bidding zone.
Blockchaintechnology: A secure digital ledger that records every transaction or batch. Used by HyGOAT for immutable certification records.
Blue Hydrogentechnology: Hydrogen produced from natural gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS). Not eligible for GHCI or RFNBO certification.
Book-and-Claimcertification: Certificate trading mechanism where physical product and certificate are traded separately. Contrast with mass balance.

C

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)business: Cost to acquire one customer. HyGOAT targets: Producers ₹2.5L, Offtakers ₹1.5L.
Capacity Utilizationeconomics: Percentage of time the hydrogen plant operates at maximum capacity. Limited by renewable energy intermittency (40-70% typical), hydrogen demand patterns, and maintenance schedules.
CAPEX (Capital Expenditure)economics: Upfront investment costs for building the facility. Includes electrolyzer, renewable energy systems, and infrastructure.
Captive REtechnology: Renewable energy installation dedicated to a specific consumer (e.g., electrolyzer), typically behind-the-meter.
Carbon Intensitymeasurement: GHG emissions per unit of hydrogen produced, measured in kg CO₂eq/kg H₂. Key certification threshold metric.
CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism)regulatory: EU mechanism requiring importers to pay for carbon content of imported goods. Affects products made using hydrogen.
CDR (Commission Delegated Regulation)regulatory: EU regulatory instrument. CDR 2023/1184 covers additionality; CDR 2023/1185 covers emission methodology.
CertifHyorganization: EU hydrogen certification scheme and registry operator. Issues Guarantees of Origin for certified hydrogen.
Certificatecertification: Digital attestation of hydrogen production attributes (origin, carbon intensity, compliance status). Core HyGOAT output.
Chain of Custodycertification: The record showing each stage of hydrogen's journey from production to use. Critical for traceability.
CHPS (Clean Hydrogen Portfolio Standard)certification: South Korea's hydrogen certification scheme with 4.0 kg CO₂eq/kg H₂ threshold (~60% emission reduction).
COD (Commercial Operation Date)business: Date when a facility begins commercial production. Key milestone for certification timeline.
Comparatormeasurement: Baseline emission value for calculating reduction percentage. EU comparator: 94.1 gCO₂eq/MJ (equivalent to ~3.4 kg CO₂/kg H₂ for 70% reduction).
COMPASStechnology: HyGOAT certification module for compliance tracking, certificate generation, and regulatory reporting.
CTP (Compliance Technology Provider)organization: CertifHy designation for platforms that assist producers in demonstrating RFNBO compliance. Atmen is currently the only CTP.

D

Delegated Actregulatory: EU regulatory instrument specifying detailed rules. Two key Delegated Acts define RFNBO requirements (2023/1184, 2023/1185).
Digital Threadtechnology: A continuous data trail connecting production sensors to certification. Ensures data integrity from SCADA to blockchain.
Direct Linetechnology: Dedicated electricity connection between renewable generator and electrolyzer (no grid connection).
DRI (Direct Reduced Iron)technology: Process of making steel using hydrogen instead of coal. Major industrial use case for green hydrogen.

E

EF (Emission Factor)measurement: CO₂ equivalent emissions per unit of energy or fuel. Critical input for carbon intensity calculation.
Electrolysistechnology: The process of using electricity to split water molecules (H₂O) into hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen (O₂).
Electrolyzertechnology: Equipment that uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Types include Alkaline, PEM, and SOEC.
EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction)business: Project delivery model where contractor handles full facility development.
EU ETS (EU Emissions Trading System)regulatory: European carbon market. Price affects CBAM calculations and green hydrogen premium.
EVM Compatibletechnology: Works with Ethereum Virtual Machine blockchain technology. Enables smart contract interoperability.
Export Readinessbusiness: Meeting all requirements to export hydrogen to a specific market. Includes certification, quality standards, and documentation.

F

FID (Final Investment Decision)business: Point at which project sponsors commit to project execution. Key milestone for PRISM assessments.
FOB (Free on Board)business: Shipping term. Price includes delivery to port but not shipping costs.

G

Geographic Correlationregulatory: Proximity requirement between renewable plant and electrolyzer. Required for RFNBO compliance.
GHCI (Green Hydrogen Certification India)certification: India's national green hydrogen certification scheme administered by BEE. Threshold: 2.0 kg CO₂/kg H₂ (~80% emission reduction).
GHCP (Green Hydrogen Certification Portal)organization: BEE's online portal for GHCI certification applications and tracking.
GO (Guarantee of Origin)certification: A digital proof that hydrogen was produced cleanly and sustainably. Tradeable certificate proving attributes of energy/hydrogen production.
Green Ammoniatechnology: Ammonia made from green hydrogen for fertilizers and shipping fuel. Major P2X derivative.
Green Hydrogentechnology: Hydrogen produced using renewable electricity with emissions below defined thresholds (e.g., <2.0 kg CO₂/kg H₂ for GHCI).
GREET Model (Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies)measurement: Lifecycle analysis tool developed by Argonne National Laboratory for emissions calculation.
Grey Hydrogentechnology: Hydrogen produced from natural gas via steam methane reforming (SMR) without carbon capture. Emissions: ~9-12 kg CO₂/kg H₂.

H

H2Globalregulatory: German/EU mechanism using double auctions to bridge green hydrogen cost gap. €2.5-3B second tender expected 2026.
Hourly Matchingregulatory: RFNBO requirement (from January 2030) that hydrogen production must be temporally correlated with renewable generation on an hourly basis.
HSM (Hardware Security Module)technology: Cryptographic hardware for secure key storage. Used in HyGOAT for temporal binding signatures.
HyGOATtechnology: Hydrogen Governance, Operations, Assurance, and Traceability platform. Enterprise certification solution for hydrogen producers.
Hyperledger Fabrictechnology: Enterprise blockchain framework for business applications. Used by HyGOAT for certification records.

I

ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification)organization: Alternative certification scheme for RFNBO compliance alongside CertifHy.
ISO 19870regulatory: International standard for GHG emission calculation methodology for hydrogen technologies.

J

JCM (Joint Crediting Mechanism)certification: Bilateral carbon credit mechanism between Japan and partner countries (including India). 50:50 credit allocation. Threshold: 3.4 kg CO₂/kg H₂.

K

KEA (Korea Energy Agency)organization: Administers Korean CHPS certification scheme.

L

LCOH (Levelized Cost of Hydrogen)economics: Total cost of hydrogen production over project lifetime divided by total hydrogen produced. Key economic metric for project viability.
LTV (Lifetime Value)business: Total revenue expected from a customer relationship. HyGOAT targets: Producers ₹25L, Offtakers ₹15L.

M

Mass Balancecertification: Physical tracking approach where hydrogen attributes follow physical product through supply chain. Tolerance: <5% deviation.
MID (Measuring Instruments Directive)regulatory: EU directive on metering equipment standards. MID-certified meters required for RFNBO compliance.
MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)organization: Indian government ministry overseeing NGHM and green hydrogen policy.
Monthly Matchingregulatory: Current RFNBO temporal correlation requirement (until January 2030) where hydrogen production is matched with renewable generation monthly.
MRV (Monitoring, Reporting & Verification)certification: Continuous tracking of production data with third-party verification. Core function of HyGOAT platform.
Multi-Ledger Architecturetechnology: Separate blockchains for different regulatory frameworks. Enables compliance with multiple certification schemes simultaneously.

N

NGHM (National Green Hydrogen Mission)regulatory: India's national program targeting 5 MMT annual green hydrogen production by 2030.
NHS (National Hydrogen Strategy)regulatory: Singapore's hydrogen strategy with progressive certification requirements.
NRR (Net Revenue Retention)business: Revenue from existing customers including expansion minus churn. Target: 115%.

O

Offtakerbusiness: Entity that purchases or uses hydrogen (ammonia producer, refinery, steel maker). Key HyGOAT customer segment.
OPC UA (OPC Unified Architecture)technology: Industrial communication protocol for SCADA data integration. Used by HyGOAT for real-time data collection.
OPEX (Operational Expenditure)economics: Ongoing running costs like electricity, maintenance, and labor. Typically 40-60% of LCOH.

P

P2X (Power-to-X)technology: Converting renewable electricity to other energy forms like hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, or synthetic fuels.
PAT (Perform, Achieve, Trade)regulatory: India's energy efficiency trading scheme under BEE.
PDD (Project Design Document)regulatory: Required documentation for JCM project registration describing project scope and methodology.
PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane)technology: Electrolyzer technology using polymer membrane. Fast response time, high purity output. Suitable for variable renewable energy.
Pilot Programbusiness: A small-scale trial of HyGOAT's certification system before full commercial rollout.
PPA (Power Purchase Agreement)regulatory: Contract for renewable electricity supply. Key RFNBO compliance element demonstrating additionality.
PRISMtechnology: HyGOAT module for Pre-FID Risk Intelligence, Scoring, and Modeling. Provides bankability assessments and project viability scoring.
Producerbusiness: Entity that operates hydrogen production facilities. Primary HyGOAT customer segment.
PSU (Public Sector Undertaking)organization: Government-owned enterprises. Key HyGOAT customers include NTPC, IOCL, GAIL.

R

REC (Renewable Energy Certificate)certification: Tradeable certificate representing renewable energy attributes. Indian mechanism for renewable energy compliance.
RED IIIregulatory: EU's third Renewable Energy Directive setting renewable energy targets and hydrogen certification requirements.
RFC 3161technology: Internet standard for trusted timestamps on digital records. Used by HyGOAT for temporal binding.
RFNBO (Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin)certification: EU classification for hydrogen and derivatives produced from renewable electricity meeting specific criteria. Threshold: 3.4 kg CO₂eq/kg H₂ (70% reduction).
RPO (Renewable Purchase Obligation)regulatory: Indian requirement for power utilities to procure a minimum percentage of energy from renewable sources.
RTO (Recovery Time Objective)technology: Maximum acceptable downtime in disaster recovery. HyGOAT targets <4 hour RTO.

S

SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)technology: Industrial control system for real-time monitoring. HyGOAT integrates with SCADA for automated data collection.
SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India)organization: Government entity managing renewable energy procurement and hydrogen tenders.
SIGHT (Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition)regulatory: MNRE incentive program with Mode-1 (electrolyzer manufacturing) and Mode-2 (green hydrogen production subsidies).
Smart Contractstechnology: Automated blockchain rules that execute transactions when conditions are met. Used for certificate issuance.
SMR (Steam Methane Reforming)technology: Conventional hydrogen production process using natural gas. Produces grey hydrogen (~9-12 kg CO₂/kg H₂).
SOEC (Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell)technology: High-temperature electrolyzer technology with highest efficiency potential (80-90%). Suitable for industrial heat integration.
Stack Replacementeconomics: Replacing electrolyzer core components after ~7 years of operation. Major CAPEX event in project lifecycle.

T

TAM (Total Addressable Market)business: Maximum potential market size. HyGOAT TAM: ~$610M globally by 2030.
Temporal Bindingtechnology: HyGOAT feature ensuring production data integrity through RFC 3161 timestamps and blockchain anchoring. Prevents data tampering.
Temporal Correlationregulatory: RFNBO requirement matching hydrogen production timing with renewable generation. Monthly until 2030, then hourly.
TIC (Testing, Inspection, Certification)organization: Industry sector including Bureau Veritas, TÜV, SGS. Potential HyGOAT partners for verification.
TPA (Tonnes Per Annum)measurement: Annual hydrogen production capacity or output. Standard metric for project sizing.
TPD (Tonnes Per Day)measurement: Hydrogen production capacity measure. 1 TPD ≈ 365 tonnes per year (assuming full capacity).
TPE (Third Party Entity)organization: JCM-registered organization for project validation and verification.
Traceabilitycertification: Ability to track where hydrogen was produced and how it moved through the supply chain.

U

UoM (Union of the Physically Connected)regulatory: RFNBO concept allowing renewable electricity matching when electrolyzer and generator are in same interconnected grid.

V

VCM (Voluntary Carbon Market)business: Non-regulatory carbon credit market for corporate offsetting. Potential revenue stream for green hydrogen projects.
Verifiercertification: Entity that audits and verifies production data for certification. See ACV for India-specific context.

W

Well-to-Gatemeasurement: Lifecycle boundary from resource extraction to factory gate (excludes end use). Standard boundary for hydrogen carbon intensity.

Thresholds Quick Reference

Comparison of major green hydrogen certification schemes and their emission thresholds:

Scheme	Threshold	Equivalent	Region
GHCI	2.0 kg CO₂/kg H₂	~80% reduction	India
RFNBO	3.4 kg CO₂eq/kg H₂	70% reduction	European Union
JCM	3.4 kg CO₂/kg H₂	70% reduction	Japan-India
CHPS	4.0 kg CO₂eq/kg H₂	~60% reduction	South Korea
Grey Hydrogen	9-12 kg CO₂/kg H₂	Baseline (SMR)	Global

Note: GHCI has the strictest threshold at 2.0 kg CO₂/kg H₂, representing approximately 80% emission reduction compared to grey hydrogen baseline.

Related Resources

Technology & Standards

Blockchain-based certification platform and technical specifications for green hydrogen verification

Industrial Use Cases

Green hydrogen applications in ammonia, steel, refining, and other industrial sectors

Export Markets

RFNBO compliance requirements, market opportunities, and export readiness for EU, Japan, and Korea

PULSE Blog

In-depth articles on P2X projects, certification frameworks, and hydrogen market intelligence

↑ Back to Top