Climate Tech Unit Economics & TEA Modeler
Demonstrate your pathway to cost parity. Calculate your Levelized Cost ($/tCO2, $/kg H2, $/kWh) with CapEx amortization, clean power sensitivities, and FOAK-to-NOAK learning curves.
Plant Sizing, Overnight Capital & Financing
Define nameplate annual output, total installed facility CapEx, operating lifetime, and financing hurdle rate (WACC).
Variable OpEx, Power Price & Learning Rate
Enter clean power prices, process energy intensity, raw consumables, and technology scale learning rates.
Equivalent to $0.040/kWh renewable PPA.
Thermal + electrical power consumed per unit produced.
Raw materials, sorbent replacement, or chemicals per unit.
Routine plant O&M, labor, site lease, and property insurance.
Annual operational uptime (accounting for maintenance downtime).
Cost reduction per doubling of cumulative installed capacity.
Target commercial:$95.00/tCO2
49% of total levelized cost
26% of total levelized cost
Fixed O&M (20%) + Feedstock (5%)
FOAK-to-NOAK Learning Curve (Wright's Law Scaling)
Projects cost reductions as cumulative deployed manufacturing capacity scales from Pilot to Commercial plant.
Electricity Price Sensitivity Curve ($20/MWh to $100/MWh)
Shows how Levelized Cost varies as clean power PPA prices shift across different regional grids.
Need an investor-ready 3-statement financial model & TEA for Series A?
SlickBooks builds venture-grade techno-economic analyses, CapEx depreciation schedules, and DOE loan guarantee models for deeptech climate startups.
Why Venture Investors Demand a Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA)
Unlike software companies where gross margins are 80% on day one, deeptech and climate hardware startups scale through physical infrastructure:
1. Levelized Cost Parity
Investors need to see when your cost per unit ($/ton of CO2 or $/kg H2) undercuts incumbent fossil or chemical alternatives (the Green Premium crossover point).
2. Surviving the FOAK Valley
First-Of-A-Kind (FOAK) commercial plants have high overnight CapEx. A robust TEA shows how unamortized engineering costs compress as capacity doubles.
3. Power Sensitivity Modeling
For electrochemical and DAC systems, electricity is up to 60% of OpEx. Modeling sensitivity to $/MWh clean PPAs is critical for site selection and project finance.
Methodology & Published Benchmark Sources
The default parameters and scaling curves in this tool are calibrated against published institutional techno-economic literature:
- Direct Air Capture: NREL / National Academies TEA methodology on solid/liquid sorbent systems ($100/tCO2 target).
- Green Hydrogen: IEA & US DOE Hydrogen Shot technical benchmark guidelines ($2.00/kg target by 2030).
- Capital Recovery Factor (CRF): Standard discounted cash flow annuity formulation based on WACC and facility design life.
- Wright’s Law Learning Rates: Historical empirical clean energy learning rates (12%–18% per cumulative doubling).
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about climate techno-economic modeling.
Why does CapEx dominate early-stage climate unit economics?
For First-Of-A-Kind (FOAK) facilities, unamortized non-recurring engineering (NRE) costs and pilot fabrication expenses are spread over relatively small initial output volumes. As manufacturing scales to gigawatt or megaton volume, annualized CapEx per unit typically falls by 60% to 80%.
What is the difference between WACC and discount rate in a TEA?
The Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) represents the blended cost of debt and venture equity used to finance the project. A higher WACC (e.g. 12% for unproven FOAK vs 6% for mature utility project debt) increases the Capital Recovery Factor and consequently raises the Levelized Cost.
How can I export this model for investor due diligence?
You can click “Export TEA Model” to generate a board-ready Markdown and CSV summary, or schedule a consultation with SlickBooks to convert your TEA into a full 3-statement financial model for Series A fundraising.