HKN NEU100

1. Assess eligibility: Confirm that your electricity product can be sourced exclusively from renewable energy facilities no more than six years old at the time of production, and that you can access Guarantees of Origin (GoOs) from Germany's Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) registry.\n\n2. Contact Bischoff & Ditze Energy: Reach out to B&D Energy via their website (bd-energy.com) or by phone (+49 40 28 40 810 00) to discuss your product and receive an initial consultation on whether HKN NEU100 is the right fit.\n\n3. Review the label criteria: Study the full HKN NEU100 standard requirements — 100% new-build GoOs (max 6 years old), balanced renewable energy mix, monthly temporal matching (at least 9 months per calendar year), and ÖkoPLUS-certified climate contribution for residual construction/operational emissions.\n\n4. Assemble documentation: Gather all relevant GoO records, plant commissioning dates, renewable energy mix data, customer demand forecasts for temporal matching, and evidence of ÖkoPLUS climate protection project contributions.\n\n5. Engage TÜV Rheinland for audit: Work with TÜV Rheinland GmbH, the independent third-party auditor, to schedule and complete the conformity assessment. TÜV Rheinland will review all documentation and verify compliance with each criterion.\n\n6. Receive certification and marketing package: Upon successful audit, receive the HKN NEU100 TÜV Rheinland certification document, TÜV ID for product use, an individual marketing certificate from B&D Energy, and access to the full marketing toolkit including website advisory support.\n\n7. Maintain annual compliance: Ensure ongoing sourcing, temporal matching, and ÖkoPLUS contributions meet label criteria each year, and undergo annual re-auditing by TÜV Rheinland to retain certified status.

HKN NEU100 evaluates electricity products against four core criteria, all of which must be met in full for certification to be granted.\n\n1. 100% New-Build Renewable Origin (Neuanlagenanteil): All Guarantees of Origin (GoOs) used to back the certified electricity product must originate from renewable energy facilities that were no more than six years old at the time of electricity production. This additionality requirement is the defining feature of the label, ensuring that certified purchases actively support recently commissioned capacity rather than long-depreciated legacy plants.\n\n2. Balanced Renewable Energy Mix (Energieträgermix): The GoO portfolio must reflect a balanced mix of renewable energy technologies — combining both dispatchable (e.g., hydro, biogas) and variable (e.g., wind, solar) sources. This prevents over-concentration in a single technology and supports a cost-efficient, resilient energy transition.\n\n3. Monthly Temporal Matching (Monatliche Zeitgleichheit): GoOs must be produced in temporal alignment with customer demand forecasts in at least nine months of the calendar year. This monthly matching requirement ensures that renewable production is not concentrated in just a few weeks of the year, providing a more meaningful correspondence between consumption and generation. Individual customer load profiles can be accommodated on request.\n\n4. Climate Contribution via ÖkoPLUS Projects: Residual CO₂ emissions associated with the construction and operation of the renewable power plants are calculated, and a corresponding climate protection contribution is made to ÖkoPLUS-certified projects. This makes the product climate neutral, though the label is transparent that this contribution supports climate justice in project countries rather than directly offsetting the product's own emissions.\n\nAll criteria are verified through independent third-party documentation review and audit by TÜV Rheinland GmbH, with GoO provenance tracked via the German Federal Environment Agency registry to prevent double-counting.

HKN NEU100 occupies a niche but credible position in the German and broader European green electricity label market. It was developed by Bischoff & Ditze Energy, a Hamburg-based specialist in Guarantees of Origin and climate certificates that describes itself as one of Germany's market leaders in this segment. The label is specifically designed to address a growing criticism of standard GoO-based green electricity products: that purchasing GoOs from decades-old hydropower plants does little to drive new renewable capacity. By mandating that all GoOs come from facilities no more than six years old, HKN NEU100 aligns with the concept of "additionality" that is increasingly demanded by sophisticated corporate buyers and sustainability frameworks such as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and RE100.\n\nIn the European market, HKN NEU100 competes with other quality-enhanced green electricity labels such as ok-power, EKOenergy, and TÜV SÜD's EE01 standard, all of which impose stricter criteria than bare GoO compliance. The label's compatibility with EKOenergy, Green-e, and LEED requirements gives it additional utility for internationally operating companies. However, it remains a relatively small, Germany-centric label compared to pan-European schemes, and its market penetration is limited to energy suppliers and retailers operating in the DACH region and broader European GoO market.\n\nDemand for additionality-focused green electricity products is growing rapidly, driven by corporate net-zero commitments, EU taxonomy requirements, and increasing scrutiny of greenwashing in energy procurement. HKN NEU100 is well-positioned to benefit from this trend, though it faces competition from emerging hourly matching standards (such as those promoted by EnergyTag) that go further than monthly temporal matching. The label's TÜV Rheinland audit backing and transparent registry-based tracking are genuine differentiators in a market where credibility is increasingly scrutinized.

HKN NEU100 was established in 2013 by Bischoff & Ditze Energy GmbH, a Hamburg-based energy services company specializing in Guarantees of Origin (GoOs) and climate protection certificates. The label was created in response to growing market demand for a more credible and additionality-focused green electricity product in Germany, at a time when standard GoO-backed "green electricity" was increasingly criticized for relying on old hydropower plants that provided no incremental benefit to the energy transition. The name "HKN NEU100" derives from "Herkunftsnachweis" (the German term for Guarantee of Origin) and "NEU" (new), reflecting its core requirement that all GoOs come from newly built renewable facilities.\n\nSince its launch, the label has been independently audited by TÜV Rheinland GmbH, lending it third-party credibility in the German market. Over time, B&D Energy expanded the label's scope to include monthly temporal matching requirements and ÖkoPLUS-certified climate contributions, and established compatibility pathways with international standards such as EKOenergy, Green-e, and LEED. The label has been periodically updated to reflect evolving market expectations around additionality and transparency, with the program page last modified in May 2026 according to website metadata.