HYTEA - A DECISION-SUPPORT TOOL TO OPTIMISE THE GREEN HYDROGEN VALUE CHAIN IN PORTS

A tool for testing green hydrogen deployment scenarios in ports

As interest in green hydrogen as a pathway to decarbonisation grows, so does the need for practical tools to help stakeholders assess the technical, economic and operational considerations of developing hydrogen infrastructure, from production and storage through to transport and end use.

Since HYDEA's main objective is to drive the hydrogen transition in ports across the Atlantic Area, the project set out to develop a decision-support tool for hydrogen applications in ports. The main aim of this open-source tool, called HyTEA 1.0, is to support techno-economic assessment and decision-making in the planning and development of green hydrogen supply chains. It was developed by researchers at the University of Galway, a partner in the HYDEA consortium.

A comprehensive assessment of the whole green hydrogen value chain

HyTEA provides a flexible framework for assessing and comparing different green hydrogen supply chain configurations, covering key elements from renewable electricity generation and hydrogen production through to storage, transport and end-use demand. The tool allows users to examine how renewable resources and hydrogen demand affect electrolyser operation, hydrogen production, storage requirements and the overall economics of the system.

A key feature of HyTEA is its ability to integrate multiple location-specific renewable energy sources and hourly generation profiles into a single model. Users can represent different combinations of renewable resources, including onshore wind, offshore wind and solar photovoltaic power. HyTEA can be used to assess and optimise electrolyser sizing under a range of operating conditions. The tool also supports the assessment and sizing of hydrogen storage technologies, including compressed hydrogen, liquid hydrogen and salt caverns, as well as transport options such as pipelines and tube trailers.

By considering production, storage and transport within an integrated framework, HyTEA allows users to explore multiple green hydrogen supply chain scenarios and assess their technical and economic implications. The tool calculates key performance indicators, such as the levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH) and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity of each scenario. These indicators provide a basis for comparing scenarios from economic and environmental perspectives, and for identifying possible options for future development.

What's next?

HyTEA 1.0 was first presented publicly at the European Hydrogen Energy Conference in Seville, Spain, in March 2026. The demonstration introduced the tool and its capabilities to researchers and professionals from the hydrogen sector. Following its initial presentation, the tool's developers will continue to share HyTEA through a series of training and knowledge-sharing activities.

• A 2-hour HyTEA masterclass has been scheduled as part of Oman Climate Week, taking place from 14 to 16 September 2026. The session will introduce the tool to participants and demonstrate how it can be applied to assess and optimise hydrogen supply chain scenarios in ports.

• A HyTEA workshop will be held in Galway on 29 September 2026, offering the opportunity to explore the tool's capabilities and its application to hydrogen supply chain planning in greater depth. Register now.

Researchers at the University of Galway also plan to develop an online HyTEA application, which will make the tool more accessible to users without programming skills. This development will enable a wider range of researchers, industry stakeholders and other users to explore hydrogen supply chain scenarios in port settings.