The Corporate Renewable Energy Foundation (CREF) is launching a pilot project with GnC energy to certify and transaction private-sector thermal energy (renewable heat). The project aims to objectively certify the environmental value of renewable heat and implement it in a tradable form to help corporations achieve carbon neutrality.
CREF said on the 18th that it signed a memorandum of understanding with GnC energy for a pilot project to certify and transaction renewable heat energy. Through the agreement, the two organizations agreed to cooperate on ▲ procedures for registering and verifying renewable heat facilities and issuing certificates ▲ renewable heat supply and data provision and verification ▲ analysis of the pilot project's outcomes.
According to the renewable heat energy certification and transaction (draft) prepared by CREF, renewable heat refers to thermal energy produced from renewable energy sources such as biogas, biomethane, geothermal, hydrothermal, and solar thermal.
CREF is introducing the RE-Heat certificate (RHC; Renewable Heat Certificate), which certifies the environmental value corresponding to 1 MWh (megawatt-hour) of such renewable heat, and is building a certification system that enables tracking of the entire process from production to supply to consumption. The certification method is designed around the core principles of traceability, additionality, prohibition of double counting, and consistency, and will set standardized procedures from facility registration to certificate issuance and retirement.
Major corporations at home and abroad are accelerating the shift to renewable energy to fulfill RE100 and achieve carbon neutrality, but related certifications and systems have so far focused mainly on the power institutional sector. With CREF's renewable heat certification method, corporations will secure a foundation to demonstrate their efforts to transition to renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gases not only in electricity but also in the heat use institutional sector for heating and hot water.
The RE-Heat certificate can quantify and present the environmental value equivalent to 1 MWh of renewable heat actually used by a corporation. Through the pilot project, CREF plans to refine the certification and transaction method so that credible carbon reduction results can be recognized in the heat institutional sector by clearly distinguishing and managing electricity (such as RECs) and heat (RE-Heat).
CREF has selected the renewable energy heat certification and transaction project as one of its key tasks for 2026 and will play a role in building a private renewable heat market base. In cooperation with GnC energy, it has conducted on-site inspections of renewable heat facilities and confirmed the heat supply potential, and plans to gradually expand demand for transactions of renewable heat certificates by linking with corporations pursuing carbon neutrality.
The foundation plans to launch a provisional RE-Heat Certification Committee composed of industry-academia-research experts to establish governance that deliberates and resolves major matters such as technical standards, methods for calculating greenhouse gas reductions, and rules to prevent double counting. It will continuously supplement renewable heat certification standards and operating rules, and seeks to broaden the base of the renewable heat market through the launch of a global initiative similar to RE100 and by linking related policies and research projects.
CREF and GnC energy will operate the pilot project for a set period after signing the MOU to verify the entire process in practice, including renewable heat facility registration, measurement and data collection, conformity assessment, and RE-Heat certificate issuance, transaction, and retirement. The specific schedule and details of the pilot period will be finalized through consultations between the two organizations, and the data and operational experience obtained after the pilot ends will be optimized and advanced.
Jung Woo-won, head of CREF's corporate cooperation team, said, "Although the heat field is an important energy source for corporations to achieve carbon neutrality, there has been no systematic certification or transaction discussion until now," adding, "Through this agreement, we will verify the environmental value of renewable heat and create a transparent market foundation that enables corporations to voluntarily use renewable heat."