CertifHy RFNBO Pre-Certification

Why Pre-Certification

A successful pre-certification process prepares you in the best possible way for certification by helping to identify weaknesses and gaps and adapt your planning at the design or engineering stage. For your internal and external stakeholders, pre-certification will bring valuable clarity and assurance.

To the benefit of your project, pre-certification

1. helps you to understand shortfalls in the production processes, supply chain, feedstocks, etc. with regards to RED II requirements,
2. allows you to learn what data sets have to be made available to demonstrate compliance (technical data, electricity procurement data, GHG emissions calculations, etc.) and be able to prepare your company for obtaining that data in the necessary detail,
3. enables you to identify actions that can be taken either on the production setup or at policy level, e.g. helping upstream suppliers with RFNBO certification,
4. helps to avoid bigger design and process changes later on.

Internally, pre-certification propels you forward by

1. allowing for refinement of the plant development roadmap based on pre-certification insights,
2. helping you identify critical or unspecified aspects relevant to your case and activating lobbying actions to address these,
3. helping you to onboard and engage internal stakeholders and align them with the certification process and its implications,
4. providing guidance to your operational and technical teams to help them achieve compliance readiness.

Externally, pre-certification allows you to

1. prove your commitment to investors and offtakers regarding the production of RED II-compliant RFNBO,
2. secure investments and commercial contracts,
3. provide supporting evidence to strengthen applications for various public funding opportunities,
4. help upstream suppliers to obtain their own RFNBO certification by sharing insights and best practices.

(Please note: Despite increasing the chances for success, pre-certification is not an automated guarantee for a successful certification.)

How does it work?

CertifHy pre-certification takes place in four phases:

Phase 1: Project Set-up

We will specify and detail all requirements to be fulfilled for the pre-certification and certification and discuss the specific challenges of your project.

Phase 2: Data Gathering and Cleansing

We will help you with the identification and collection of the right data at the required level of detail and compile it for the auditing process.

Phase 3: Third-Party Audit

A third-party auditor from a CertifHy trained certification body will write a critical review based on the information provided by you.

Phase 4:  Report Issuance

You will receive a CertifHy report with a status quo assessments, insights, and actionable recommendations specific to your project.

What is the outcome of pre-certification in concrete terms?

As part of a pre-certification, you will get:

1) a CertifHy-stamped status-report for investors and offtakers

2) a critical review report by the certification body

3) a criteria checklist used by the certification body

4) guidelines and recommendations to get ready for the actual certification

5) in depth understanding of the certification process and data requirements

Why use CertifHy for pre-certification?

• We will not only tell you what is missing but provide step-by-step guidance on how you can close possible gaps. We will take care of all your questions ranging from specific details to the special circumstances of your project.
• During pre-certification, we collaborate with certification bodies who will perform a critical review of your data as part of the pre-certification process. Everything is centrally coordinated for your convenience.
• Pre-certification under the CertifHy voluntary scheme allows you to already get acquainted and work with your preferred certification body from the list of trained certification bodies.
• CertifHy is a strong brand name internationally recognized by industry, policy makers, NGOs and investors and has acted as a hydrogen market facilitator in collaboration with European and international hydrogen stakeholders since 2014.
• CertifHy is strongly connected to EU policymakers who are developing the policy framework for RFNBO and RFNBO Certification, including the Union Database.
• CertifHy is the only certification scheme that proposes a system architecture that covers the link between a Book & Claim system based on Guarantees of Origin, certificates for compliance, and the Union Database.