A techno-economic assessment links process performance to costs under stated assumptions. Before comparing figures, align the product specification, functional unit, plant scale, location, price year, financing and process boundary. Minimum selling price and a feedstock-cost subtotal answer different questions. Global CO₂ Initiative assessment toolkit
Read assumptions before the headline
Look for capital recovery, operating hours, equipment replacement, utilities, feedstock delivery and waste treatment. A sensitivity analysis should expose which assumptions drive the result, rather than hide them inside a single precise price.
In our methanol example, purchased hydrogen is priced per kilogram. Adding electrolysis electricity on top would double-count production cost unless the hydrogen-price boundary explicitly excludes it. The scenario calculator therefore adds only separately specified process electricity.
Analyst reading rule: an optimistic point estimate is not a financing case. Request sensitivity ranges and distinguish reported costs, modeled costs and analyst assumptions. Report currency and year; never silently compare nominal figures across periods.