Updates from Work Package 2 (WP2): In WP2 (see HyPEF’s Workplan) “Setting the Ground for Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (FCH-PEFCRs),” we are pleased to announce the timely completion of Deliverable 2.1 on Learnings from Relevant Existing P(EF)CRs in June 2024. This milestone marks a significant step in our ongoing efforts to establish robust PEFCRs for hydrogen-related products.
Analysis Overview
Our comprehensive analysis involved reviewing ten documents: six related to Fuel Cell and Hydrogen (FCH) systems and four unrelated. Each document was scrutinized based on the latest PEF recommendations to extract valuable insights for drafting PEFCRs. For detailed guidelines, you can refer to the latest PEF recommendations (last accessed on July 17, 2024).
Welcome to HyPEF! We will deliver and test the FIRST EVER Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs) for fuel cells and hydrogen (FCH) products.
Key Findings
One of the most notable findings from our analysis is the lack of specific guidance for hydrogen storage. This raises an important question: should PEFCRs be modular? For instance, should a PEFCR for hydrogen use exclude storage if a dedicated PEFCR for storage exists?
The versatility of hydrogen applications further complicates the definition of functional units for product categories. To ensure comparability within a product category, several factors must be considered, such as:
- Purity, pressure, and temperature of hydrogen during production, storage, transportation, or use.
- Device lifetime and potential leakages.
- Inclusion or exclusion of capital goods.
Additionally, there is a need to consider supplementary environmental information beyond the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as outlined in the PEF methodology. This could include:
- Carbon neutrality considerations for hydrogen derived from biomass or biofuels.
- Analysis of raw material criticality.
- Reporting the presence or absence of certain trace elements or heavy metals during the manufacturing phase.
Next Steps
The insights gained from Deliverable 2.1 will significantly contribute to drafting the PEFCRs in WP3. These drafts will focus on hydrogen-related product categories (or sub-categories) selected by the consortium and the Advisory Working Group by fall 2024. The selection process will be informed by Deliverable 2.2 on FCH Product Categories, which was completed at the end of July 2024. For each product category, we will select and define a representative product to guide our efforts.
