Modeling of a Python Tool for the Techno-Economic Analysis of Tidal-to-Hydrogen Energy Systems.

As a response to the actual environmental situation, the power sector shifted his focus to renewable sources to grant an affordable energy supply. However, the development of this sector, is facing, especially in Europe, some difficulties due to the limited available land area. One possible answer to this issue is to develop technologies that exploit marine resources that have great potential but are not yet entirely used. Among the different possibilities offered by the offshore environment, this thesis will focus on tidal energy, first as a stand-alone plant, then as the electricity source feeding an electrolyser for green hydrogen production. The proposed analysis is focused on both the economic side and the energy production one. It exploits a Python script that comprises the cost functions of all the components involved for the calculations of the main economic parameters like Capex and Opex as well as the functions for the calculations of the energy production in order to obtain the LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy), an economic parameter fundamental for different energy sources comparison. The analysis focuses on the three main technologies for tidal stream energy production: floating, monopile and gravity-based substructures, while for the resource assessment retrieves the needed data from the Copernicus Marine Service. An analogous procedure is performed compute the hydrogen production technology costs and obtain the LCOH (Levelized Cost of Hydrogen). Furthermore, in order to validate the methodology, a case study is produced, located in Fall of Warness, Scotland, where a real test site is present for hydrogen production via tidal energy, making it possible to compare the different plant layouts proposed with a real case.