Replicability Tool
The preliminary techno-economic analysis and assessment of business models that paves the way for the replicability of the BIG HIT concept to other territories is analysed by using a user-friendly modelling tool, named HTP Tool. The Excel-based tool has been designed with a main objective: providing HTP members, particularly public entities and decision-makers, a first or initial assessment for the introduction of hydrogen technologies in their regions of influence. The tool is a living creation and improvements will be continuously introduced, but maintaining the aforementioned objective in mind. A useful simplified User’s Guide has been created for using the HTP Tool.
How the tool works?
The next figure presents an overview of how the HTP modelling tool works. The end-user needs to introduce firstly all the data that is required (road vehicles and maritime transport user profiles, power and heat needs, etc.) and once the “RUN” button has been clicked, the tool internally works to provide to the user the Results.
Once the data has been introduced, and thanks to the user’s defined values, the tool has been programmed to estimate the hydrogen demand in the respective region or territory, according to specific parameters and objectives introduced by the end-user. With this information, the tool estimates the total hydrogen production, supply capacity and associated infrastructure required to meet that demand.
It has to be noticed that the tool is designed to fulfil always the hydrogen demand. In this sense, the hydrogen production will always be higher than the demand, creating a surplus of hydrogen. The model considered that this hydrogen surplus could be exported. Thus, the tool estimates the revenues obtained from the surplus hydrogen market and introduces this value as cost benefits into the model.
Then the hydrogen tool estimates the auxiliary costs that are needed, including:
- Land area requirements and its purchase.
- Compression stages and associated power requirements.
- Number of dispensers and personnel required in the Hydrogen Refuelling Stations.
- Infrastructure requirements for logistics and distribution of hydrogen to end-users (e.g. hydrogen trailers).
Once the tool has been estimated all the auxiliary cost, special focus has been introduced in the modelling of the logistics. Due to it, the final step is the computation of the transport costs.
Once all the values have been individually estimated, the tool generates a complete cash flow assessment considering all the previous results. This cash flow estimates the CAPEX and OPEX for a period of twenty years, and provides annual costs, as well as the monetary savings that hydrogen will yield in the region and the CO2 equivalent emissions that have been avoided thanks to hydrogen.
Available results of the tool
The Hydrogen Modelling Tool has been designed to present the results using a simple format, where information about the infrastructure requirements is firstly presented. Then, the cash flows under different scenarios of commercialization are presented considering, the overall structure?? and not only the production.
Additionally, the results also include the annual hydrogen consumption that each technology deployed will have, and how the supply of hydrogen is addressed by means of novel and old electrolysers.
As the land requirements are also considered important for the region or territory, a breakdown of the footprint requirements for different sites across the value chain (supply and storage, distribution and local end-use of hydrogen) is presented also to the tool user. Finally, an economic overview is presented, with particular focus on the hydrogen production stage.
The Levelised Cost of Hydrogen (LCoH2) is presented in the report, including a detailed breakdown of the CAPEX and OPEX associated to it, allowing the user to identify the critical cost points. After this section, a global overview of the CAPEX and the annual OPEX is presented, to provide a clear vision of the main cost drivers of the simulated scenario.
The last part of the report presents a comparison with a state-of-the-art scenario based on local energy supply by conventional fossil fuels. Costs due to fuel requirements and the emissions capitalised are schematically presented, in order to identify the economic and environmental penalties that the introduction of hydrogen in the region may avoid.

