Certification

The importance of certification is growing especially as markets start to value sustainable ammonia over fossil-based, compelled by regulation on the one hand and voluntary sustainability targets on the other.

The voluntary market focuses on reducing carbon footprints and sourcing renewable products and is driven by corporate  responsibility and sustainability goals. Until now, no reliable system for the calculation and verification of GHG emissions and tracking the origin of the ammonia along the supply chain has been in place.

For the compliance market, legally binding (mandatory) sustainability targets (e.g., emissions reduction) have been set by governments at various levels. Additionally, the EU has established stringent criteria for renewable and low-carbon classification. While these increase production costs, they enable premium pricing in regulated sectors like transport and industry.

The scheme

The Ammonia Europe Certification Scheme provides the system to calculate greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and trace the ammonia origin, allowing to distinguish between renewable, low-carbon, and fossil-based ammonia by disclosing the environmental attributes to end-users in European Single Market Area.

The Scheme enables transparency and premium pricing, allowing producers to tap into the growing voluntary market by attracting customers willing to pay for renewable and low-carbon produced ammonia.

The Scheme relies on Product Certificates for disclosing the attributes of ammonia produced using hydrogen from water electrolysis, from steam reforming of biomethane, and from steam reforming of natural gas with carbon capture and storage. It uses a mass-balance chain of custody with optional restricted Book & Claim within the European Single Market domain and the same company. Product Certificates are digital documents issued at time of production for each tonne of product, and they are held in their own company registry.

Figure 1: European Single Market (ESM) Area – Geographical scope of the scheme allows for supply of ammonia to the ESM

Governance

The Ammonia Europe Secretariat is in charge with the day-to-day operation of the Scheme and provides operational support to the Certification Working Group and the Ammonia Europe Board.

The Ammonia Europe has a dedicated Certification Working Group that holds meetings to review the ongoing development of the Scheme. It addresses any technical matters, such as related to the inclusion of new production pathways and other certification scope extensions, (re)definition of methodologies, rules and procedures and verification.

Membership and fees

Membership to the certification scheme is included in the Ammonia Europe membership for full members and associated members. You can find out more about Ammonia Europe membership benefits here.

Scheme Documents

08 Jan 2025 Version: 1.0

System Document

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08 Jan 2025 Version: 1.0

Chain of Custody Requirements

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08 Jan 2025 Version: 1.0

Scheme Governance

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