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Electrolyser feed-water demineralisation (RO + EDI)

Reverse osmosis plus EDI polishing of tap, river or sea water to electrolysis-grade water: demand from the H2 rate, intake and brine, electricity, all-in CAPEX and the cost per m3 and per kg H2, chainable as the electrolyser water price.

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Open Jack

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  • CurrencyEUR 2010
  • Battery limitfully financed
  • 90 documented assumptions
  • Updated2 Nov 2026

Mass and energy balance

What the asset draws and delivers for the case and load you choose.

Reference case

Share of the year the unit produces at capacity. World Bank 2019 assumes 95 %. Sets the design output over which the cost is spread.

Flows

  • In: Electricity—

Asset

Electrolyser feed-water demineralisation (RO + EDI)

  • Out: Demineralised water—

Annual quantities at the current usage.

Capacity of the unit in m3/d of electrolysis-grade water (ASTM type II, under about 1 µS/cm). MAK Water DMRO-100 = 100 m3/d, DMRO-1000 = 1,000 m3/d. A 3,000 t/d ammonia plant needs about 5,300 m3/d.

Unit capacity
— m3/h
Capacity utilisation
— %
Raw water intake
— m3/h
Electrical power
— kW

CAPEX

Specific cost at this size, what backs it, and how it behaves with scale.

Specific CAPEX at this size

—

Reference size 7,576 m3/d

NETL QGESS 2019

Model value: sourced scale law. Customized: your quote per m3/d, used as entered at every size; the result is then no longer sourced.

Specific CAPEX by demineralised water capacity

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  1. Ex-factory
  2. Installed
  3. Fully financed· this figure
CAPEX at the battery limit—

Included

  • Equipment and installation
  • Indirect and owner's costs
  • Contingency

Not included

  • Nothing

Added at project level

  • Nothing: project mode uses the figure as is

Project figures

Values passed to project mode when this asset is added to a project.

Concept sketch, not to scale · drag to rotate

Electricity in
—
Demineralised water outMain product
—
CAPEX to the battery limit
—
Fixed O&M
—
Variable O&M, excluding feedstocks
—
Asset lifetime
25 years

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Cost of demineralised water

A standalone indicator for a quick read. Project mode recomputes it for the whole system.

—

  • Capital share—
  • O&M share—
  • Electricity share—
  • Raw water share—

Linked to the balance above

Share of the year the unit produces at capacity. World Bank 2019 assumes 95 %. Sets the design output over which the cost is spread.

Hydrogen rate of the electrolysers this unit feeds, in kg/h. Same key and unit as the electrolyser output of #222/#282, so it chains. 4,000 kg/h is about a 200 MW electrolyser.

9 L/kg is stoichiometry (IEA 2019); 10 L/kg includes electrolyser-side losses (IRENA 2023). Cooling-water make-up is not included.

Plant grid price. Default 42.3 EUR/MWh = the 5-6 US cents/kWh of IRENA/IEA-ETSAP 2012 at 1.3 USD/EUR. Chain it to the plant's own price.

Site-specific tariff or abstraction fee per m3 withdrawn. Unsourced; 0 by default (seawater is usually free).

Real rate: costs are in constant money. World Bank 2019 uses 5 %.

World Bank 2019 uses 25 years. Membranes and resins are replaced inside O&M.

Cost of demineralised water by availability

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Benchmarks

This model's figures against published references and reference cases.

Raw water withdrawn per kg of H2, L/kg

15.2 IRENA 2023 Fig 2.1

28.6 IRENA 2023 Fig 2.1

Specific electricity, kWh/m3

1.61 MAK DMRO datasheet (derived)

4 IEA 2019 p.43

4.32 MAK DMRO datasheet (derived)

5.86 Derived

Reference cases at this size and usage

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All results

Every model output at the current settings, grouped, with the sensitivity charts.

51 outputs · 5 groups · 16 also shown above, dimmed

Cost of water

13
Cost of demineralised water
ComputingEUR/m3
Cost of demineralised water per kg of H2
ComputingEUR/kg
Capital share
ComputingEUR/m3
O&M share
ComputingEUR/m3
Electricity share
ComputingEUR/m3
Raw water share
ComputingEUR/m3
Capital share of the cost
Computing%
Electricity share of the cost
Computing%
Annual cost at design output
ComputingEUR/year
Annualised CAPEX
ComputingEUR/year
Annual O&M
ComputingEUR/year
Annual electricity cost
ComputingEUR/year
Capital recovery factor
Computing1/year

Sizing and utilisation

10
Demineralised water demand
Computingm3/h
Required capacity
Computingm3/d
Unit capacity
Computingm3/h
Capacity utilisation
Computing%
Demand above capacity
Computingbool
Capacity shortfall
Computingm3/d
Treated flow
Computingm3/h
Demineralised water delivered per year
Computingm3/year
Design output per year
Computingm3/year
Operating hours per year
Computingh/year

Intake and brine

9
Raw water intake
Computingm3/h
Brine and reject
Computingm3/h
Permeate rate of the train
Computing%
Permeate rate outside the World Bank RO range
Computingbool
Raw water withdrawn per kg of H2
ComputingL/kg
Brine per kg of H2
ComputingL/kg
Raw water withdrawn per year
Computingm3/year
Brine discharged per year
Computingm3/year
Seawater case
Computingbool

Electricity

12
Specific electricity
ComputingkWh/m3
Electricity per kg of H2
ComputingkWh/kg
Polishing train electricity
ComputingkWh/m3
SWRO stage electricity
ComputingkWh/m3
Small-unit energy penalty
Computingratio
Energy size exponent
Computingratio
Electrical power
ComputingkW
Annual electricity
ComputingMWh/year
Heat and losses
ComputingMWh/year
MAK DMRO-100 electricity (datasheet)
ComputingkWh/m3
Model electricity at 100 m3/d
ComputingkWh/m3
Model over DMRO-100 datasheet
Computingratio

CAPEX

7
Total plant CAPEX (all-in)
ComputingEUR
Specific CAPEX
ComputingEUR/(m3/d)
Specific CAPEX, model value
ComputingEUR/(m3/d)
Reference specific CAPEX
ComputingEUR/(m3/d)
Reference single-pass RO CAPEX
ComputingUSD/(m3/d)
Reference plant size
Computingm3/d
Polishing cost uplift
Computingratio

Sensitivities

4 charts
Cost of water by component vs capacity

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Specific CAPEX and electricity vs capacity

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Water demand, intake and brine vs hydrogen rate

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Cost of water vs availability

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Sources

90 documented assumptions · 8 sources

About

Calculator context

A screening model of the water treatment that feeds an electrolyser: raw water (tap, river or groundwater, or seawater) is turned into electrolysis-grade demineralised water (ASTM type II, under about 1 µS/cm) by reverse osmosis, then polished by electrodeionisation or a mixed bed. The unit runs on the plant grid. It answers the questions a permit officer and a lender ask: how much water the electrolysers draw, how much is withdrawn at the intake, how much brine goes back, whether the unit is big enough, and what each m3 and each kg of hydrogen costs.

Demand is the hydrogen rate times 9 to 10 L of demineralised water per kg (IEA 2019; IRENA 2023). The permeate rate of the whole train sets the intake and the brine: 66 % for tap water, 58 % for river or groundwater, 35 % for seawater (IRENA 2023). Each case is named after the water type, and each uses the costs and energy of one source: the fresh-water cases take Texas BWRO plant costs (Pearson et al. 2021, 536-1,032 USD per m3/d) with the MAK Water DMRO datasheet electricity (1.61 kWh/m3 at 1,000 m3/d, 4.32 at 25 m3/d); the seawater case takes IRENA/IEA-ETSAP 2012 for the SWRO stage (800-1,500 USD2010 per m3/d, 3.5-5.0 kWh/m3, O&M 1.5-2.5 % of CAPEX, 5-6 US cents/kWh, 1.3 USD/EUR) and adds the same polishing train. Polishing to electrolysis grade adds 40-55 % to the construction cost of single-pass RO (World Bank 2019, Table ES.5). CAPEX scales with capacity at the NETL exponent 0.73 for water treatment. Levelisation follows the World Bank 2019 cost basis: 25 years, 5 % real, 95 % availability.

The cost of water is levelised over the unit's design output, so it does not depend on the hydrogen rate and chains directly into the water price input of the electrolyser calculators #222/#282. The hydrogen rate sets the utilisation, and an alert fires when the electrolysers need more water than the unit makes.

This item weighs well under 1 % of the LCOH: the IEA estimates desalination adds about 1 % to hydrogen costs, and IRENA 2020 puts water treatment under USD 0.01/kg. Its value lies in permitting, water footprint (withdrawal and brine) and siting. At plant scale the model sits at or below the IEA's 0.01-0.02 USD/kg H2 and below IRENA 2023's 0.02-0.05 USD/kg, which counts all seawater withdrawal including cooling make-up, excluded here.

Limits. The 0.73 exponent was fitted on about 16,000-58,000 m3/d raw-water ranges and is extrapolated below. Both CAPEX anchors are municipal plants and are not escalated from about 2010 money; the polishing factor is a SWRO ratio transposed to BWRO. Fresh-water electricity is derived from datasheet kW over capacity; the curve fitted on DMRO-25 and DMRO-1000 overstates the DMRO-100 by about 22 %, shown as a check. Double counting: calculator #482 includes water in its rest-of-plant lump sum; if both are chained, remove the water share from #482.

Model

119 variables — inputs, calculations and outputs, with their dependencies.

119 variables shown of 119
VariableValueUnitDepends on
1000m3/d—
4000kg/h—
1——
95%—
10L/kg—
42.3EUR/MWh—
0EUR/m3—
5%—
25years—
0——
1500EUR/(m3/d)—
VariableFormulaUnitDepends on
if((<)+(>)+(<)+(>)+(<)+(>)+(!=)*(!=)*(!=)+(<)+(>)+(<)+(>)+(<)+(>)+(<)+(>)+(<)+(>)+(<)+(>)+(>=)*(<=)>,,)bool
*/kWh/m3
*/kWh/m3
VariableFormulaUnitDepends on
if(==,,)bool
if(==,,if(==,,))%
*/m3/h
*m3/d
/m3/h
/max(,)/%
if(>,,)bool
max(-,)m3/d
min(,)m3/h
/(*)m3/h
-m3/h
/(*)L/kg
-L/kg
if(>=,if((<)+(>)>,,),if((<)+(>)>,,))bool
ln(/)/ln(/)ratio
clamp((/)^,,/)ratio
*kWh/m3
*(+)*kWh/m3
+kWh/m3
*/kWh/kg
*/kWh/m3
*clamp((/)^,,/)kWh/m3
/max(,)ratio
**h/year
***m3/year
*m3/year
*m3/year
*m3/year
*kW
*/MWh/year
MWh/year
if(>=,(+)*,(+)*)USD/(m3/d)
if(>=,,)m3/d
(+)*ratio
*/EUR/(m3/d)
clamp(*(/)^(-),,)EUR/(m3/d)
if(>=,,)EUR/(m3/d)
*EUR
if(*<,/,(**(+*)^)/max((+*)^-,))1/year
*EUR/year
**EUR/year
/max(,)EUR/m3
/max(,)EUR/m3
*/EUR/m3
/(*)EUR/m3
+++EUR/m3
*/EUR/kg
/max(,)/%
/max(,)/%
*EUR/year
*EUR/year

Assumptions

90 assumptions used in the calculations

  • Zero, for guards and flags.

    Market range Exact.

    0
    Convention

  • One, for flags, selector tests and CRF.

    Market range Exact.

    1
    Convention

  • Takes the midpoint of a published low-high range.

    Market range Exact.

    0.5
    Convention

  • Guards divisions against zero.

    Market range Exact.

    0.000001
    Convention

  • Converts a percentage to a fraction.

    Market range Exact.

    0.011/%
    Convention

  • 100 %, the full-capacity and full-availability limit.

    Market range Exact.

    100%
    Convention

  • Hours in a day; converts m3/d to m3/h.

    Market range Exact.

    24h/d
    Convention

  • Days in a year.

    Market range Exact.

    365d/year
    Convention

  • Hours in a year.

    Market range Exact.

    8760h/year
    Convention

  • Litres in a cubic metre.

    Market range Exact.

    1000L/m3
    Convention

  • kWh in a MWh.

    Market range Exact.

    1000kWh/MWh
    Convention

  • Selector id of the tap-water case (66 % permeate rate, BWRO-type CAPEX and the fresh-water polishing train).

    Market range Not applicable (selector).

    1
    Selector

  • Selector id of the river or groundwater case (58 % permeate rate, BWRO-type CAPEX and the fresh-water polishing train).

    Market range Not applicable (selector).

    2
    Selector

  • Selector id of the seawater case (35 % permeate rate, SWRO stage ahead of the polishing train, SWRO CAPEX).

    Market range Not applicable (selector).

    3
    Selector

  • Below 5 m3/d the unit is a laboratory or container skid with no published cost data; the model is invalid there.

    Market range MAK DMRO range 25-1,000 m3/d.

    5m3/d
    Domain limit

  • Upper limit of the capacity slider; Pearson et al. 2021 Table 3 plants reach 56,818 m3/d, so the cost anchors cover it.

    Market range Texas BWRO 1,364-56,818 m3/d (Pearson et al. 2021, Table 3).

    10000m3/d
    Domain limit

  • Same key and unit as the h2_production_kg_per_h output of the electrolyser calculators #222/#282.

    Market range Not applicable (domain).

    70kg/h
    Domain limit

  • Upper limit of the hydrogen-rate slider.

    Market range Not applicable (domain).

    22000kg/h
    Domain limit

  • Below 70 % availability a membrane plant is down for repair, not in operation; the levelised cost would mean little.

    Market range World Bank 2019 assumes 95 %.

    70%
    Domain limit

  • Upper limit of the real discount rate slider.

    Market range World Bank 2019 uses 5 %.

    12%
    Domain limit

  • Lower limit of the lifetime slider.

    Market range World Bank 2019 uses 25 years.

    15years
    Domain limit

  • Upper limit of the lifetime slider.

    Market range World Bank 2019 uses 25 years.

    40years
    Domain limit

  • Upper limit of the raw-water price slider.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    1EUR/m3
    Domain limit

  • Upper limit of the electricity price slider.

    Market range IRENA/IEA-ETSAP 2012 use 5-6 US cents/kWh.

    200EUR/MWh
    Domain limit

  • Stoichiometric floor of the demineralised water demand: 18 g of water per 2 g of H2. Lower limit of the water-demand slider.

    Market range 9 L/kg (stoichiometry).

    9L/kg
    IEA 2019 p.43

  • Demineralised water fed to the electrolyser per kg of H2, stoichiometry plus electrolyser-side losses. Upper limit and default of the water-demand slider.

    10L/kg
    IRENA 2023 Fig 2.1

  • Share of the raw water that leaves the treatment train as demineralised water in the tap-water case; the rest is reject.

    Market range BWRO 50-90 % (World Bank 2019); MAK DMRO <55 to <80 %.

    66%
    IRENA 2023 Ch.2

  • Permeate rate of the river or groundwater case.

    Market range BWRO 50-90 % (World Bank 2019).

    58%
    IRENA 2023 Ch.2

  • Permeate rate of the seawater case, for the whole train (SWRO then the polishing stage), which is why it sits below the World Bank's SWRO-only 40-60 %.

    Market range SWRO alone 40-60 % (World Bank 2019).

    35%
    IRENA 2023 Ch.2

  • Lower end of the BWRO recovery range, used to flag a case permeate rate outside it.

    50%
    World Bank 2019 p.16 printed

  • Upper end of the BWRO recovery range.

    90%
    World Bank 2019 p.16 printed

  • Lower end of the SWRO recovery range; the seawater case (35 %) sits below it because it counts the polishing stage too, and the flag says so.

    40%
    World Bank 2019 p.16 printed

  • Upper end of the SWRO recovery range.

    60%
    World Bank 2019 p.16 printed

  • Electrical power of the smallest catalogue skid; with its 25 m3/d it gives 4.32 kWh/m3, the small-unit end of the energy curve.

    Market range Derived 4.32 kWh/m3 at 25 m3/d.

    4.5kW
    MAK DMRO datasheet

  • Permeate capacity of the DMRO-25 skid.

    Market range Exact (catalogue model).

    25m3/d
    MAK DMRO datasheet

  • Out-of-sample check of the energy curve: the curve is fitted on DMRO-25 and DMRO-1000 only.

    Market range Derived 2.45 kWh/m3 at 100 m3/d.

    10.2kW
    MAK DMRO datasheet

  • Permeate capacity of the DMRO-100 skid.

    Market range Exact (catalogue model).

    100m3/d
    MAK DMRO datasheet

  • Electrical power of the largest catalogue skid; with its 1,000 m3/d it gives 1.61 kWh/m3, the large-unit energy of the fresh-water train.

    Market range Derived 1.61 kWh/m3 at 1,000 m3/d.

    67kW
    MAK DMRO datasheet

  • Permeate capacity of the DMRO-1000 skid; also the size above which the energy curve is flat.

    Market range Exact (catalogue model).

    1000m3/d
    MAK DMRO datasheet

  • Low end of the SWRO stage electricity; the seawater case uses the midpoint.

    3.5kWh/m3
    IRENA/IEA-ETSAP 2012 Table 5

  • High end of the SWRO stage electricity.

    5kWh/m3
    IRENA/IEA-ETSAP 2012 Table 5

  • Low end of the SWRO plant capital cost; the seawater case uses the midpoint, 1,150 USD2010/(m3/d), with the same table's energy and O&M (theme-33 lesson: one source, one case).

    800USD/(m3/d)
    IRENA/IEA-ETSAP 2012 Table 5

  • High end of the SWRO plant capital cost.

    1500USD/(m3/d)
    IRENA/IEA-ETSAP 2012 Table 5

  • Size at which the SWRO capital-cost range applies; the scaling law is anchored there.

    4500m3/d
    IRENA/IEA-ETSAP 2012 Table 5

  • Low end of the Texas BWRO plant capital cost (1,364-56,818 m3/d plants, 2002-2013 USD, not escalated); the two fresh-water cases use the midpoint, 784 USD/(m3/d).

    536USD/(m3/d)
    Pearson et al. 2021 Table 3

  • High end of the Texas BWRO plant capital cost.

    1032USD/(m3/d)
    Pearson et al. 2021 Table 3

  • Plant size at which the BWRO capital cost is anchored (a Table 3 plant inside the 1,364-56,818 m3/d range).

    7576m3/d
    Pearson et al. 2021 Table 3

  • Low end of the cost uplift that takes a single-pass RO plant to electrolysis-grade water (second pass and ion exchange or EDI). A SWRO ratio, transposed to BWRO.

    1.4
    World Bank 2019 Table ES.5

  • High end of the polishing cost uplift; the model uses the midpoint, 1.475.

    1.55
    World Bank 2019 Table ES.5

  • CAPEX = reference x (size / reference size)^0.73, so the specific CAPEX per m3/d falls with size to the power -0.27. Fitted by NETL on about 16,000-58,000 m3/d raw-water ranges: below that it is extrapolated.

    0.73
    NETL QGESS 2019

  • Membranes, resins or EDI stacks, chemicals, labour and maintenance, excluding electricity, as a share of CAPEX per year. Applied to the polishing-inclusive CAPEX, so the World Bank O&M ratio for polishing (1.32-1.45) is roughly carried with it.

    2%/year
    IRENA/IEA-ETSAP 2012 Table 5

  • Converts the USD capital costs to EUR at the rate the SWRO cost source itself uses. No price-year escalation is applied.

    Market range 1.3 USD/EUR (2010-2012).

    1.3USD/EUR
    IRENA/IEA-ETSAP 2012 Table 4

  • Floor of the clamp on the scaled specific CAPEX; never reached inside the declared domain.

    Market range Model range about 820-8,200 EUR/(m3/d).

    100EUR/(m3/d)
    Guard

  • Ceiling of the clamp on the scaled specific CAPEX; never reached inside the declared domain.

    Market range Model range about 820-8,200 EUR/(m3/d).

    20000EUR/(m3/d)
    Guard

  • Reference withdrawal per kg of H2 for tap water. The model reproduces it by construction (10 L / 66 % comes from the same figure): it is a consistency marker, not an independent validation.

    Market range 15.2 L/kg (tap water).

    15.2L/kg
    IRENA 2023 Fig 2.1

  • Reference withdrawal per kg of H2 for seawater; reproduced by construction (10 L / 35 %), not an independent check.

    Market range 28.6 L/kg (seawater).

    28.6L/kg
    IRENA 2023 Fig 2.1

  • Independent SWRO-only energy marker. The seawater case adds the polishing train, so it should sit above this range.

    3kWh/m3
    IEA 2019 p.43

  • High end of the IEA SWRO energy marker.

    4kWh/m3
    IEA 2019 p.43

  • Large-unit electricity of the fresh-water train, recomputed in the model from the datasheet power and capacity.

    1.61kWh/m3
    MAK DMRO datasheet (derived)

  • Small-skid electricity of the fresh-water train; caps the small-unit penalty.

    4.32kWh/m3
    MAK DMRO datasheet (derived)

  • Electricity of the seawater case at 1,000 m3/d and above. Below that the polishing train carries the small-unit penalty.

    5.86kWh/m3
    Derived

  • Low end of the NETL water-treatment exponents.

    0.71
    NETL QGESS 2019

  • High end of the NETL water-treatment exponents.

    0.75
    NETL QGESS 2019

  • Low end of the O&M range.

    1.5%/year
    IRENA/IEA-ETSAP 2012 Table 5

  • High end of the O&M range.

    2.5%/year
    IRENA/IEA-ETSAP 2012 Table 5

  • Not applied separately: O&M is a share of the polishing-inclusive CAPEX, whose 1.475 uplift is close to this ratio.

    1.32
    World Bank 2019 Table ES.5

  • High end of the polishing O&M ratio (not applied separately).

    1.45
    World Bank 2019 Table ES.5

  • Basis of the default electricity price: midpoint 5.5 US cents/kWh / 1.3 = 42.3 EUR/MWh, so the seawater case uses this source's price with its costs and energy. Chain to the plant's own price.

    0.05USD/kWh
    IRENA/IEA-ETSAP 2012

  • High end of the source electricity price.

    0.06USD/kWh
    IRENA/IEA-ETSAP 2012

  • Default economic life and the service life exported to project mode. The source gives a payment term, not a measured service life; membranes and resins are replaced inside the O&M share, so 25 years is the life of the civil works, pumps and vessels. No independent physical-life source is cited.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    25years
    World Bank 2019

  • Default real discount rate. All costs are constant money (2010 USD converted at 1.3, no escalation), so the rate is real.

    Market range 5 % (World Bank 2019).

    5%
    World Bank 2019

  • Default availability: the share of the year the unit produces at its capacity.

    Market range 95 %.

    95%
    World Bank 2019 Table 4.1

  • Cross-check of water_cost_eur_per_m3, qualitative only: USD 2019 against the model's EUR at 2010 USD costs. The model's seawater case (about 0.6 EUR/m3 at 4,500 m3/d) sits at the low end.

    Market range USD 0.7-2.5/m3.

    0.7USD/m3
    IEA 2019 p.43

  • High end of the IEA desalination cost.

    Market range USD 0.7-2.5/m3.

    2.5USD/m3
    IEA 2019 p.43

  • Cross-check of water_cost_eur_per_kg_h2 (qualitative, different currency and year). The model at plant scale gives 0.003-0.008 EUR/kg, at or below this range.

    Market range USD 0.01-0.02/kg.

    0.01USD/kg
    IEA 2019 p.43

  • High end of the IEA cost per kg.

    Market range USD 0.01-0.02/kg.

    0.02USD/kg
    IEA 2019 p.43

  • The model sits below this range. IRENA 2023 counts all seawater withdrawal, including cooling make-up, which this calculator excludes; the gap is published, not hidden.

    Market range USD 0.02-0.05/kg.

    0.02USD/kg
    IRENA 2023

  • High end of the IRENA 2023 range.

    Market range USD 0.02-0.05/kg.

    0.05USD/kg
    IRENA 2023

  • Order-of-magnitude marker for the fresh-water cases (qualitative, USD 2020).

    Market range About USD 1/m3.

    1USD/m3
    IRENA 2020 p.40

  • Withdrawal marker: the model's fresh-water cases give 15-17 L/kg, a little below IRENA 2020's range, which assumes a lower permeate rate.

    18kg/kg
    IRENA 2020 p.40

  • High end of the IRENA 2020 withdrawal range.

    24kg/kg
    IRENA 2020 p.40

  • Lower bound of the plausible cost of water (municipal SWRO, potable grade).

    Market range USD 0.49-2.86/m3.

    0.49USD/m3
    World Bank 2019

  • High end of the municipal SWRO cost of water.

    Market range USD 0.49-2.86/m3.

    2.86USD/m3
    World Bank 2019

  • Small-unit cost marker; the model gives about 1.9 EUR/m3 at 5 m3/d with defaults, and up to about 10 EUR/m3 at the most adverse corner of the sliders.

    5.08USD/m3
    Pearson et al. 2021 Table 4

  • High end of the small BWRO cost.

    11.55USD/m3
    Pearson et al. 2021 Table 4

  • Why this item weighs little in the LCOH: its value is permitting, water footprint and siting.

    Market range About 1 % of H2 cost.

    1%
    IEA 2019 note 60

  • Demand = H2 rate x water per kg; treated flow = the smaller of the demand and the unit capacity; raw water = treated / permeate rate; brine = raw water - treated. Cooling-water make-up is excluded.

    Market range Not applicable (method).

    —
    IRENA 2023

  • The cost of water is levelised at the unit's design output (capacity x availability), not at the electrolyser's demand, so it does not change with the hydrogen rate and chains cleanly into the water price input of the electrolyser calculators #222/#282. An oversized unit therefore shows a lower cost per m3 than it will deliver on a project; project mode recomputes it from the actual flows.

    Market range Not applicable (method).

    —
    World Bank 2019

  • If this calculator is chained in the same project as #482, the water share must be removed from #482, otherwise the demineralisation plant is paid twice.

    Market range Not applicable (chaining).

    —
    Chaining rule

  • Costs are in about 2010 money converted at 1.3 USD/EUR and are not escalated to today; a quote today would be higher. Use the Customized CAPEX option with a supplier quote for a current figure.

    Market range Not applicable (basis).

    —
    Currency basis