Process Basis Development
Define the technical basis, system boundaries and required data for a simplified clean-tech project.
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Course 5 of 8Applied Course
Techno-Economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment for Clean-Tech
Evaluate clean technologies using integrated technical, economic and environmental analysis to support better decisions around scale-up, investment, technology selection and long-term viability.
Category
Applied Course
Duration
~40 h
Modules
8
Key areas
Process basisCAPEXOPEXNPVIRRSensitivity analysisLife cycle assessmentEnvironmental impacts
8 Modules
About the Course
Techno-Economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment for Clean-Tech equips participants with a structured approach to evaluating whether clean technologies are both economically viable and environmentally credible.
Participants learn how to establish a technical process basis, estimate capital and operating costs, evaluate project economics, conduct sensitivity and scenario analysis, define appropriate life cycle assessment boundaries, interpret environmental impacts and compare technology alternatives.
The course emphasises integrated decision-making, helping participants connect technical performance, economic viability and environmental impact rather than assessing each dimension in isolation.
What You Will Learn
- Explain the roles of TEA and LCA in clean-tech project evaluation.
- Define appropriate project, process and system boundaries.
- Establish a consistent technical basis using material and energy data.
- Identify and structure relevant CAPEX and OPEX components.
- Develop basic cost and cash-flow models.
- Calculate and interpret key economic indicators.
- Apply sensitivity and scenario analysis to identify major project drivers.
- Define an appropriate LCA goal, scope and functional unit.
- Develop a basic life cycle inventory.
- Identify environmental hotspots and major impact contributors.
- Assess uncertainty and data-quality limitations.
- Compare technology alternatives using economic and environmental criteria.
- Identify trade-offs between cost and environmental performance.
- Develop a structured recommendation for a clean-tech project.
Course Curriculum
8 modules · ~40 h indicative total
Clean-Tech Project Evaluation Fundamentals~4 h10 topics
- Role of TEA and LCA
- Technology-development stages
- Project evaluation context
- Decision objectives
- System boundaries
- Functional units
- Assumptions
- Data requirements
- Technology comparison
- Evaluation limitations
Process Definition, Mass and Energy Basis~5 h11 topics
- Process-flow representation
- Material balances
- Energy balances
- Production basis
- Feedstock requirements
- Product yields
- Utility requirements
- Scale assumptions
- Process boundaries
- Scenario definition
- Data consistency
Capital and Operating Cost Estimation~5 h13 topics
- CAPEX structure
- Equipment costs
- Installation costs
- Supporting infrastructure
- Contingencies
- OPEX structure
- Raw materials
- Utilities
- Labour
- Maintenance
- Consumables
- Waste-management costs
- Cost-estimation approaches
Techno-Economic Performance Analysis~5 h10 topics
- Revenue assumptions
- Unit production cost
- Cash-flow fundamentals
- Simple payback
- Net present value
- Internal rate of return
- Break-even analysis
- Economic-performance indicators
- Discounting concepts
- Interpretation of economic results
Uncertainty, Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis~4.5 h11 topics
- Sources of uncertainty
- Key assumptions
- Sensitivity analysis
- Scenario analysis
- Feedstock-price variation
- Energy-price variation
- Product-value assumptions
- Capital-cost uncertainty
- Scale effects
- Risk exposure
- Decision robustness
Life Cycle Assessment Fundamentals~5 h11 topics
- LCA purpose and principles
- Goal definition
- Scope definition
- Functional unit
- System boundaries
- Life cycle stages
- Life cycle inventory
- Data quality
- Allocation
- Cut-off criteria
- Assumptions and limitations
Life Cycle Impact and Environmental Interpretation~5 h11 topics
- Emissions and resource flows
- Climate-change impacts
- Energy demand
- Water use
- Resource consumption
- Selected environmental impact categories
- Hotspot identification
- Trade-offs
- Interpretation
- Comparative assessment
- Environmental uncertainty
Integrated TEA-LCA Decision-Making~6.5 h10 topics
- Integrating TEA and LCA results
- Technology comparison
- Economic-environmental trade-offs
- Scale-up implications
- Investment screening
- Scenario comparison
- Decision matrices
- Risk considerations
- Recommendation development
- Communicating results to stakeholders
Who Should Attend
Process and chemical engineersEnvironmental engineersClean-tech developersSustainability professionalsProject and development engineersR&D professionalsTechnical consultantsInnovation and commercialisation teamsEnergy and decarbonisation professionalsInvestment and technical due-diligence teamsResearchers working on technology scale-upManagers responsible for evaluating clean-tech and industrial projects
Prerequisites
- Basic understanding of engineering or technical project evaluation
- Familiarity with material and energy balances
- Basic numerical and spreadsheet skills
- General familiarity with project costs or environmental performance is helpful
Prior formal experience in TEA or LCA is not required.
Practical Learning
Participants apply the course concepts through modelling, evaluation and comparison exercises.
CAPEX and OPEX Structuring
Develop a preliminary project cost model.
Economic Performance Analysis
Calculate and interpret unit cost, payback, NPV, IRR and break-even conditions.
Sensitivity Analysis
Test the impact of changes in feedstock price, energy cost, product value, plant capacity and capital cost.
LCA Goal and Scope Exercise
Define the functional unit, system boundary and life cycle stages for a selected technology.
Technology Comparison Exercise
Compare two clean-tech alternatives using both economic and environmental indicators.
Applied Case Study
The course concludes with an integrated clean-tech evaluation project. Potential scenarios include renewable-energy integration, waste-to-resource conversion, water-reuse technology, low-carbon manufacturing, circular-economy processes, bio-based technologies, advanced treatment systems or energy-storage technologies.
Applied workflow
- Process definition
- Technical basis
- CAPEX/OPEX
- Economic evaluation
- Sensitivity analysis
- LCA
- Environmental hotspots
- Integrated comparison
- Recommendation
Final deliverable includes
Resources Included
Representative resources for the website (the full internal toolkit may be broader):
TEA Project Basis Template
CAPEX Estimation Worksheet
OPEX Estimation Worksheet
Cash-Flow Model Template
NPV and IRR Calculation Sheet
Sensitivity Analysis Template
LCA Goal and Scope Template
Life Cycle Inventory Worksheet
Integrated TEA-LCA Comparison Matrix
What You Will Gain
Develop the capability to evaluate clean technologies using an integrated framework that connects process performance, project economics, uncertainty and environmental impacts.
- Stronger techno-economic modelling capability
- Practical understanding of CAPEX and OPEX estimation
- Confidence interpreting NPV, IRR and payback
- Practical sensitivity and scenario-analysis skills
- Working knowledge of life cycle assessment
- Improved ability to identify environmental hotspots
- Greater confidence comparing competing technologies
- Stronger basis for scale-up and investment decisions
- Reusable tools for clean-tech project evaluation
Industry Applications
Clean technologyRenewable energyWater and wastewaterWaste valorisationCircular economyAdvanced materialsLow-carbon manufacturingBio-based technologiesEnergy storageIndustrial decarbonisationTechnology commercialisationTechnical due diligence
Delivery Options
Live Virtual Training
Interactive instructor-led delivery incorporating exercises, analysis and discussion.
Instructor-Led Classroom Training
Face-to-face delivery with practical activities, case work and direct instructor interaction.
Corporate Cohorts
Organisation-specific delivery with examples and scenarios adapted to relevant operational or technical contexts where appropriate.
Blended Delivery
A combination of instructor-led sessions and structured independent activities or applied project work.