International trade and green hydrogen Supporting the global transition to a low-carbon economy DISCLAIMER This publication and the material herein have been prepared under the responsibility of the WTO Secretariat and of the International Renewable Energy Agency and are provided “as is”. All reasonable precautions have been taken by the WTO and IRENA to verify the reliability of the material in this publication. However, neither the WTO nor IRENA, nor any of their officials, agents, data or other third-party content providers provides a warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, and they accept no responsibility or liability for any consequence of use of the publication or material herein. The information contained herein does not necessarily reflect the positions or opinions of WTO members, nor of the members of IRENA. It is without prejudice to the rights and obligations of WTO members under the WTO agreements. The opinions expressed and arguments employed are not intended to provide any authoritative or legal interpretation of provisions of the WTO agreements, and shall in no way be read or understood to have any legal implications. The mention of specific companies or certain projects or products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by either the WTO or IRENA in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The designations employed and the presentation of material herein do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the WTO or IRENA concerning the legal status of any region, country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND GREEN HYDROGEN • 1 Contents Acknowledgements and Abbreviations 2 Executive summary and Five actions for consideration by policymakers 3 1 Introduction 6 1.1 The role of green hydrogen in a global low-carbon economy 7 1.2 Prospects for green hydrogen production 10 1.3 How could global hydrogen trade play out in the future 13 2 Mapping supply chain issues from a trade perspective 16 2.1 Trade in hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives 20 2.2 Electrolysers as a key technology for the green hydrogen supply chain 24 3 26 Trade-related policies along the hydrogen value chain 3.1 Tariffs and other taxes 29 3.2 Quality infrastructure – standards, certification and beyond 30 3.3 Subsidies 34 3.4 Sustainable government procurement 37 4 Considerations for development 40 5 The role of international cooperation 44 Five actions for consideration by policymakers 48 Annex 51 Bibliography 54 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This publication has been prepared under the overall guidance of Aik Hoe Lim of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Roland Roesch of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The core team was composed of Francisco Boshell, Luis Janeiro, Ann Kathrin Lipponer and Jaidev Dhavle of IRENA and Svetlana Chobanova, Mateo Ferrero and Rainer Lanz of the WTO. Valuable comments and inputs were also provided by Zafar Samadov, Emanuele Bianco, Raul Miranda, Paul Komor and Deepti Ashok Siddhanti (IRENA), Monia Snoussi-Mimouni, Ankai Xu, Jose Luis Monteiro, Seref Coskun, Ruosi Zhang, Michael Roberts, Vishva Subramaniam and Philippe Pelletier (WTO), and Chris Agius (IEC). ABBREVIATIONS CO2 carbon dioxide CTE Committee on Trade and Environment GDP gross domestic product GH2 green hydrogen GHG greenhouse gas GPA Agreement on Government Procurement GW gigawatt H2 dihydrogen (i.e., hydrogen in a stable gaseous form) IEA International Energy Agency IEC International Electrotechnical Commission IECRE IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Renewable Energy Applications IECEx International Electrotechnical Commission System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Explosive Atmospheres IISD International Institute for Sustainable Development IPHE International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy IRENA International Renewable Energy Agency ISO International Organization for Standardization LDC least-developed country LH2 liquid hydrogen LOHC liquid organic hydrogen carrier million tons per year Mt/y Mt CO2 megatons of carbon dioxide MtH2/year megatons of hydrogen per year NH3 ammonia OECD Organ