VITO: Techno-economic assessments and LCA analysis

General expertise of the research group

VITO is a leading European independent research/consultancy centre in the areas of cleantech and sustainable development, elaborating solutions for the grand societal challenges of tomorrow: climate change, food security, a sustainable energy supply, the ageing population and scarcity of resources. Within several units VITO combines the competences to perform techno-economic assessments and life cycle assessments (LCA and LCC) of the hydrogen value chain. With our developed models we can execute these assessments on the micro/meso/macro scale from a specific project/technology and upscale to the energy system covering energy supply and demand sectors.

Specific hydrogen- related expertise & research topics

• PhD research project (BE-HyFE) focusing on the development of an investment and operational optimization modelling framework for the future hydrogen infrastructure. The model represents the hydrogen-related supply technologies and pure hydrogen gas flows with high spatial resolution (in the level industrial clusters) to deliver some insights on the cost-optimal required hydrogen backbone capacity, and how different policies can affect the industrial hydrogen production and demand.
• The TIMES-BE model developed by VITO/EnergyVille represents the Belgian energy system including all related technologies and their corresponding material and energy flows. The model is developed in TIMES, a techno-economic energy system modelling framework. Due to its detailed system perspective, the TIMES-Be model is useful for determining hydrogen applications at system level:
  • TIMES will indicate the cost-optimal route in terms of technology investments. Due to the high level of industrial process detail, the model allows for hydrogen applications to be compared to its possible future competitors.
  • The TIMES-BE model has an integrated system approach, meaning that the interaction between sectors is considered in the analysis. The TIMES-BE model was developed under close collaboration between industry and researchers, allowing for detailed insights regarding industrial needs.

Available equipment/tools:

•  Techno-economic assessment model developed in house
  • LCC models
  • LCA models
  • Long-term energy system optimisation model: TIMES (co-development within IEA-ETSAP technology collaboration programme)

Participating in FL/B/EU funded projects with H2 related research:

• Energy transition funds projects EPOC and PROCURA focus on the role of hydrogen in the industrial and energy system.
• Recently, the Paths2050 study, funded by Febeliec published results on the cost optimal pathways for the Belgian energy system, including the role of hydrogen, in www.perspective2050.energyville.be.
• In addition, last year two projects were carried out for DG Reform:
  • One project discussed IPCEI regulation on hydrogen networks,
  • The other project investigated policies to implement RepowerEU, and an in-depth report on hydrogen regulation and impact on the federal hydrogen strategy was delivered.
  • In both projects Trinomics was in the lead, EnergyVille provided the hydrogen techno-economic analysis. Expected publication date is March 2023.

International collaborations:

• VITO NDC Support Center: the NDC Support Center provides support to increase capacity of African countries to improve their National Energy Information Systems and their energy modelling expertise, to prepare climate communication and to improve policymaking in the framework of commitments as set for the Paris Agreement. The NDC Support Center is currently active in Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, and Morocco.
• Colombia NDC Update: The World Bank’s PMR fund contracted VITO’s consortium in 2020 to update Colombia’s NDC. The consortium, including UniAndes and the Stockholm Environmental Institute, updated & consolidated sector GHD emission scenarios and assessed associated abatement costs.
• Horizon Europe Water-Energy-Food Nexus: WEF Energy Planning and Modelling through Integrated Assessment of Climate-Land-Energy-Water Nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Cases of the Volta and Tana River Basins
• The other flagship World Bank project in which VITO is leading the consortium focusses on conducting a comprehensive technical assessment of resilience to disasters, climate change risks and related GHG emissions intensity for the city of Ahmedabad and providing assistance to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in developing resilient and sustainable urban service delivery systems. This project got further extension in 2022 to also include the non-AMC (private) sectors as part of the GHG emissions inventory.

Main relevant publications

1. www.perspective2050.energyville.be contains the most relevant TIMES related results of the past year, including a topic on hydrogen.