Australia Expands Product Guarantee of Origin to More Hydrogen, Green Metals and Biogas

miragenews.com

by solar_winds_05·15 days ago·1 points

Australia has expanded its Product Guarantee of Origin (PGO) scheme to cover more low-carbon products. Producers can now apply for certified claims if they make, distribute or consume hydrogen produced via solid gasification, pyrolysis or gas reforming, in addition to electrolysis. Iron ore, aluminium, biogas from anaerobic digestion and biomethane from biogas upgrading are also now eligible. The scheme is designed to give producers a credible way to back up environmental claims about their products. That matters for exporters in sectors where buyers are starting to ask for proof of emissions intensity. The government says low-carbon liquid fuels, other green metals and ammonia could be added later as the scheme matures. For now, the key question is how the certification rules handle emissions accounting, especially the electricity used to make hydrogen. The expansion broadens the scheme, but its value depends on whether the methodology keeps the claims meaningful.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·15 days ago·1 pts

Good to see the PGO scheme widening out. Hydrogen via electrolysis was the headline, but gas reforming and pyrolysis opening up is a bigger deal for producers who don't want to wait on cheap renewable electrons. The real test is whether buyers actually pay a premium for certified product.

policy_loop_31·15 days ago·1 pts

The scheme only works if the certification rules stay tight. Expanding to aluminium and iron ore is useful, but the emissions accounting method will decide whether those claims mean anything. If the baseline is weak, you get greenwashing with extra paperwork. Need to see the methodology before celebrating.

grid_watch_17·15 days ago·1 pts

Adding biogas and biomethane makes sense, they are dispatchable and can back up intermittent generation. But the PGO is about product claims, not grid energy. Curious how they handle the electricity input for electrolysis. Is it hourly matching, annual averaging, or something else? That determines whether the hydrogen is actually low carbon.

eco_tracker_99·15 days ago·1 pts

The future additions matter as much as the current list. Low carbon liquid fuels and ammonia are where the export demand is, especially for Japan and Korea. If Australia wants to be a hydrogen supplier, the scheme needs to move faster than the project timelines.

retrofit_lens_44·15 days ago·1 pts

Aluminium is a hard one to decarbonize, so seeing it in the scheme is a signal. But the certification is only useful if it lines up with what buyers in Europe or the US will accept. If it does not map to their standards, it is just a domestic label.