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The Hydra Simulation App is a key development within the COMET project ReNEW – Renewable Energy and Hydrogen System Simulation. Designed to simplify complex system modeling, it provides a user-friendly and efficient solution for simulating green hydrogen production pathways. Built on the robust HyCentA Matlab/Simulink model library Hydra, the tool enables detailed scenario analysis while reducing the complexity traditionally associated with dynamic system simulations.
 

Accessible Standalone Solution
The application is distributed as a standalone executable for Windows systems and requires no further licenses, making it highly accessible for a broad user base across research and industry. A web-based version is currently in development and will be made available within the project runtime.

Simplified Access to a Powerful Model Library

While the Hydra model library itself enables highly customized, time-efficient simulations and deep system insights, it requires specialized knowledge to operate. The Hydra Simulation App bridges this gap, offering intuitive access to the same powerful simulation capabilities through a guided, simplified interface - making it practical for both experienced and non-expert users.

Analysis of Relevant H2 Production Scenarios

The application supports a wide range of power supply configurations for electrolysis, including on- and off-grid renewable energy, surplus feed-in to the grid, flexible grid electricity usage, dynamic grid tariffs, and energy pricing. Users can also define their own renewable generation and pricing profiles for maximum flexibility. The Hydra model library also incorporates elements for hydrogen storage, reconversion, and utilization—these features will be included shortly in the app to enable extended application range.

Detailed Results and Transparent Evaluation

The tool provides a comprehensive set of economic and technical results, including Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH), capital expenditures (CapEx), operational expenditures (OpEx), total expenditures (TotEx), and revenue distributions. Each simulation run generates key performance indicators such as hydrogen output and energy balances. Visualizations of the weekly energy utilization, detailed result tables with technical and economic parameters, as well as sensitivity analyses enable easy scenario analysis. To support ongoing analysis, all simulation outputs can be exported to Excel and reloaded for future evaluation or benchmarking against other scenarios.

With its blend of depth, usability, and flexibility, the HYDRA Simulation App offers a valuable tool for planning, evaluating, and optimizing green hydrogen production systems across a range of technical and economic scenarios.

Project partners

• OMV Exploration & Production GmbH, Austria
• Energienetze Steiermark GmbH, Austria
• TÜV SÜD Landesgesellschaft Österreich GmbH, Austria
• OMV Downstream GmbH, Austria
• VERBUND Green Hydrogen GmbH, Austria
• Voestalpine Stahl Donawitz GmbH, Austria
• Wien Energie GmbH, Austria
• Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Austria
• Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Germany
• K1-MET GmbH, Austria
• Institute of Thermodynamics and Sustainable Propulsion Systems GmbH, Austria
• BEST – Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies GmbH, Austria

This success story was provided by the centre management and by the mentioned project partners for the purpose of being published on the FFG website. HyCentA COMET Center is a COMET Centre within the COMET – Competence Centers for Excellent Technologies Programme and funded by BMIMI, BMWET, provinces of Styria, Upper Austria, Tyrol, and Vienna and the SFG. The COMET Programme is managed by FFG. Further information on COMET: www.ffg.at/comet