Guidance Documents

These documents provide detailed technical guidance on how to conduct Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) (according to the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards) for fuel cells (FCs) and hydrogen production systems. They build on the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD), coordinated by the Joint Research Centre – Institute for Environment and Sustainability (JRC-IES), through the European Platform on LCA. This system promotes the availability, exchange and use of consistent and quality-assured life cycle data and methods for robust decision support in policy making and in business.

Guidance Document for Hydrogen Production Systems	Guidance Document for Fuel Cell Technologies

Both guidance documents were passing a third party critical review process before they got published. The "critical review statement and the response summary" can be accessed here:

Critical Review Statement and the Response Summary

Although two separate Guidance Documents for hydrogen production systems and fuel cell technologies are available, the structure of the documents are equal.

It is foreseen that these guidance documents will be applied to all projects funded by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) involving LCA in the field of hydrogen production systems and fuel cell technologies. By providing information on how to deal with key methodological aspects, for example definition of a functional unit, system boundary, allocation rules, relevant impact categories, etc., the guidance documents will allow all hydrogen production and fuel cell technology developers to assess their own technology, and make the information available in the ILCD Data Network. The availability of data sets will therefore be increased and future LCA studies in this field supported.