Hydrogen production techno-economic analysis similarities and differences identified in an international round-robin comparison

Techno-economic analysis (TEA) is a critical decision-support framework used to assess the cost-competitiveness and readiness of energy technologies. However, the global hydrogen sector currently faces a significant challenge: differences in TEA tools and assumptions often produce inconsistent results, complicating decision making. This research presents the findings from a round-robin TEA focused on electrolytic hydrogen production from solar photovoltaics. This study compares levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) estimates from seven national research institutes, each using their native models and assumptions, and presents an initial framework for meta-analysis of the input and output variables produced by each institute. The reported LCOH values vary by about $4/kg H₂, a disparity driven primarily by differences in assumptions about photovoltaic capital costs and performance, electrolyzer costs, and soft costs such as installation and financing. The meta-analysis further shows that cost categories for capital, operations, and energy are not consistently defined across institutes. Capital cost factors were found to drive the majority of variance in the chosen simplified scenario. The outcome of this study suggests that future work should prioritize TEA harmonization and progress towards further refinement of meta-analysis frameworks and the exploration of optimized system configurations, as this study analyzed a simplified configuration not intended to minimize LCOH.