Emerging trade in hydrogen
Hydrogen trade faces certification challenge
Standard definition for green hydrogen crucial to support trading and investment, panellists say
A lack of consistency in the definition of green hydrogen across different countries and regions threatens to hamper the development of global trade and investment in the fuel, according to speakers at this week’s First Element conference. The need for standardised certification of green hydrogen globally is pressing as it will support faster investment in the sector and enable the growth of liquidity in traded markets, helping investors to manage risk, panellists said. “[Certification] is really the biggest challenge we are facing,” says Daniel Wragge, director of political and regulatory affairs at the Germany-based European Energy Exchange. To speed up the process, countries already invol
Also in this section
9 March 2026
Hydrogen has not stalled in the UK because the technology does not work. The problem is that the system around it does not yet move at the speed required
4 March 2026
Turmoil in Middle East reminds nascent clean hydrogen sector that its future prospects are dependent on global energy markets and geopolitics
25 February 2026
Low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia development is advancing much more slowly and unevenly than once expected, with high costs and policy uncertainty thinning investment. Meanwhile, surging energy demand is reinforcing the role of natural gas and LNG as the backbone of the global energy system, panellists at LNG2026 said
18 February 2026
Norwegian energy company has dropped a major hydrogen project and paused its CCS expansion plans as demand fails to materialise
