Green Hydrogen Fuels in Shipping Face Certification Urgency

With climate deadlines breathing down our necks, Lloyd’s Register CEO Nick Brown has laid it out straight: if we don’t tighten up certification, the shipping world’s shift to green hydrogen could be a total flop, plagued by greenwashing.

Certification Under the Microscope

During a press briefing on August 29, 2025, Brown warned that without clear rules, fossil fuels could sneak in disguised as green. He pointed at the patchy Guarantees of Origin system—where renewable energy certificates might not align in time or place with the actual electrolysis process—allowing high-carbon hydrogen to slip through the cracks. His fix? Rock-solid “additionality” rules: the renewable power must be generated on-site and at the exact moment of splitting water. Add in tough third-party audits and on-chain tracking, and you’ve got a certification regime that actually clamps down on every loophole.

He also flagged a sneaky risk called double counting—when the same green power claim is sold to more than one buyer. “Every megawatt-hour used in electrolysis needs a unique tag,” Brown said, urging fuel vendors to show crystal-clear proof of their power purchase agreements (PPAs) and quit reselling the same clean energy certificates to different boats.

Technical and Regulatory Landscape

At its core, real green hydrogen comes from electrolysis driven only by wind, solar or hydro, so the full lifecycle emissions sit near zero. Producers then compress and store that H2 under strict rules so its renewable creds stay intact all the way from the plant to the port. Onboard, hydrogen fuel cells—which boast around 50–60% electrical efficiency—turn the gas back into power, leaving just water vapor in their wake. Many systems also lean on battery buffers to handle peak demand and recapture regenerative energy, squeezing every drop of efficiency out of the fuel.

But it’s not plug-and-play. Fitting ships with hydrogen fuel cells and high-pressure storage means jumping through safety hoops—think leak detection, tank integrity checks and crew drills—to keep fire and explosion risks in check. Classification societies demand system-wide certification, checking everything from materials to emergency shutdown procedures and crew competencies before a green hydrogen propulsion setup can hit the high seas.

Meanwhile, regulators are scrambling to lay down the law. The EU’s FuelEU Maritime Regulation will phase in carbon intensity cuts, and the IMO’s plan calls for serious slashes by 2030 and near-zero emissions by 2050. Both depend on airtight certification schemes, real-time audits and enforceable penalties. Groups like Lloyd’s Register are teaming up with industry bodies to draft unified standards, aiming to sidestep a patchwork of rules that bad actors could exploit.

Commercial and Strategic Stakes

For shipowners, fuel suppliers and the banks backing them, weak certification isn’t just a regulatory headache—it’s a business killer. The main risks on the table are:

• Fines or restrictions under FuelEU Maritime and IMO mandates.
• Investors pulling out of projects that can’t prove compliance.
• Battered reputations and blocked market access if greenwashing scandals blow up.

In a worst-case scenario, a blown-up certification system could tank global hydrogen supply chains, leaving ports high and dry of zero-emission fuel and pushing operators back to heavy fuel oil. On the flip side, rock-solid certification can unlock massive investment in hydrogen infrastructure—from offshore electrolyzer farms to portside bunkering hubs—and spur hiring in auditing, engineering and fuel logistics.

Sure, certified green hydrogen still costs more than traditional marine fuels, but as renewable power prices fall and electrolysis scales up, that gap is shrinking. Early adopters who lock in clean fuel contracts today could see real cost benefits down the line.

And it’s not just about the bottom line. Proper certification cuts sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and particulate pollution in port cities, boosting air quality for coastal communities and giving regulators some peace of mind. Plus, it sets a benchmark for other sectors chasing net-zero, supercharging global sustainable energy ambitions.

Charting a Path Forward

Hands-on pilots and tech fixes are already rolling out. Blockchain-based registries promise tamper-proof records of hydrogen’s origin and carbon footprint, while fresh protocols for on-site sampling and independent checks are in the works. A recent RMI report even calls for guaranteed renewable power and full traceability—from the wind farm to the fuel cell stack. Bodies like the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) and class societies are hashing out joint frameworks to keep standards consistent worldwide.

Certification proof arrived when Lloyd’s Register gave type approval to PowerCell’s Marine System 225, showing that zero-emission shipping is ready for prime time. Still, Brown stresses that approvals mean nothing without teeth: we need automated audits and real penalties baked into the rulebooks to keep everyone honest.

Shipping companies eyeing net-zero have a golden chance to shape these standards. By jumping into multi-stakeholder talks, testing certification pilots and tweaking procurement policies to favor credible fuel criteria, early movers can score long-term green fuel deals and win brownie points with ESG-savvy charterers and financiers.

Global coordination is also key. Ship registries, port authorities and national regulators must sync up carbon accounting rules to avoid confusion across trade routes. Developing nations—often missing electrolysis and bunkering infrastructure—will need financial and technical backing or risk getting left behind. International development banks and aid agencies can help build green hydrogen corridors along major shipping lanes, using scale to drive down costs.

Insurers are getting in on the action, too. The IUMI has proposed tweaking hull-and-machinery policies to cover high-pressure hydrogen gear, even linking premium discounts to fuel certification levels and safety records. Tying insurance rates to verification standards could be a game-changer, nudging shipowners to only sail with trusted hydrogen fuel cells and storage setups.

What happens in shipping won’t stay in shipping. A robust green hydrogen market here will ripple out to aviation, heavy trucking and other tough-to-decarbonize sectors. Nail the certification game in maritime, and you reinforce the wider hydrogen infrastructure ecosystem—paving the way for clean ammonia production, grid balancing and a more diversified energy future.

As 2026 looms and regulatory clocks tick, the industry finds itself at a pivotal moment. The tech for green hydrogen and marine fuel cells is solid; now governance and oversight need to catch up. Without clear, enforceable certification, zero-emission shipping risks being just another slogan instead of a real driver of global decarbonization.

About Lloyd’s Register: Founded in 1760, Lloyd’s Register is a UK-based classification society and professional services outfit specializing in engineering and tech assurance for maritime and energy sectors. The firm is leading the charge on certifying green hydrogen production and hydrogen fuel cells to push the shipping industry toward its decarbonization goals.