We're thrilled to release the latest version of Southern Lights: v.1.10. This marks another step on our journey of continuous improvements, shaped by the valuable feedback from our users.
New features
Hydrogen Storage
You can now add a hydrogen storage to your project! This allows you to achieve a steady hydrogen output even if your energy input is varying. The operations of the storage will attempt to meet a 'target hydrogen output' with the given storage size and the hydrogen production. You can set your target to a fixed value or to a target with.
In the cost section you can add any costs to the hydrogen storage to include for example CAPEX costs, OPEX costs and more.
Southern Lights v.1.9.0
We're thrilled to release the latest version of Southern Lights: v.1.9.0. This marks another step on our journey of continuous improvements, shaped by the valuable feedback from our users.
New features
Knowledge Base for Electrolyzer
Understanding the technical data for electrolyzers can be challenging. We have now included information buttons on the inputs and data on the electrolyzer page to help you navigate and choose electrolyzer easier. We are continuously building this
Hydrogen compressor
You can now add a hydrogen compressor to your electrolyzer plan. This allows you to go from low pressure hydrogen from an electrolyzer to the higher pressure typically needed for storing or transporting hydrogen. The power consumption of the compressor is taken from the same power sources as the electrolyzer, which means that hydrogen production is also affected by adding a compressor.
Ammonia production
Projects can now include ammonia production as an additional step after hydrogen production. Under the page “Downstream processes” you can add an ammonia production plant with a few inputs. Note that the ammonia plant currently assumes a dedicated grid connection for the energy required.
New Sales page: Selling Electricity, Hydrogen and Ammonia
Hydrogen projects can become more profitable when including several different revenues streams. That’s why we now allow your projects to sell Electricity, Hydrogen and Ammonia - all at once. You can set the demand and price for each product to capture the type of sales contracts that your project has. You can even include more than one sales connection for each product sold to make the best use of the production you have. The new graphs for revenues also make it easier to get a quick overview of the revenues of the project.
Minor fixes:
The new sales pages fixes a previous issue in the “Surplus sales” of hydrogen that incorrectly calculated the price. All sales definitions now work as expected.
Changes affecting your designs
In this release, we have greatly improved the options for defining sales revenues, offering new flexibility in adding sales of several different products (energy, hydrogen and ammonia). This update requires you to re-simulate your designs to continue working on them.
This upgrade has also forced us to remove the option of "Match LCOH" for hydrogen selling price. You will get notified of this change when opening a design that is affected. Read the instructions and please reach out if you experience any issues.
Southern Lights v.1.6.0
We're thrilled to unveil Southern Lights v.1.6.0, marking another step in our journey of continuous improvements, shaped by the valuable feedback from our users. This release brings several new features designed to further empower your development of green hydrogen projects.
New Features at a glance
Results page
We are delighted to share the brand new Results page! Simply click "Results" in the sidebar after finishing all design steps. This page gives you an overview of your project that allows you to review all your inputs and all generated results - all in one page. Try it out!
Share results
The "Share Results" feature on the Results page introduces a streamlined way to collaborate and communicate your project designs with colleagues and stakeholders by creating a shareable link. This link, which becomes public upon creation, offers an efficient method to present your work, ensuring that your team and any interested parties can easily access and review the project details. Importantly, you maintain complete control over this link, possessing the ability to deactivate it at any point to restrict access.
Want to create a pay-as-used cost for a power source? Now you can! By assigning your OPEX costs to “Energy allocated” instead of “Energy Out” (the default), your costs will only be applied to the energy that goes into the electrolyzer. Note that this feature follows the order in which power sources are declared, which means that designs with multiple power sources may give you unexpected results if you do not make you don’t consider the order. We would love your feedback on how and where you use this!
Custom electrolyzers
In the Electrolyzer page, you can now upload custom electrolyzer models! This enables you to modify the efficiency, degradation, and performance map to match any data from any other providers or technologies you are working with. Simply download our template excel sheet and make the necessary changes before re-uploading the file. The custom electrolyzers are shared between all users in your company.
Default cost templates
Default cost templates for Power Sources and Electrolyzers: We now provide templates for the cost structure of both Power Sources and Electrolyzers. In a new Power Source, you will find an OPEX group called “Energy” with two entries defined. For the Electrolyzer, the template includes a set of CAPEX groups (Equipment and Installation), OPEX groups (Water, Land, and O&M) and a group for Stack replacements in Capital Replacement Cost. This is based on our best-practice setup for cost in a hydrogen project, but of course, you can add and customize the default as much as you like. Please let us know what your favourite cost structures look like, so we can include it for you in a future release.
Important note on changes in LCOH
This update brings an update in how the discount rates of financials are applied to costs and revenues when calculating present values of costs. Since we do all our simulations on an hourly basis, we now apply the discount rates on a monthly basis, and by doing so we capture any costs changing within each year of operations. We simultaneously harmonized the way present values are calculated across the product. What this means for your designs is that LCOH will increase by a few percent if your discount rate is substantial. If your discount rate is zero, no change will be seen at all. This update is a further step in our efforts to give you the most close-to-reality cost metrics. Please reach out to us if your like support in understanding how this affects your particular projects - we are always here to help.
Other Fixes
Import file now warns if you upload data with leap days. You then need to edit your file by removing 1 day of value. Example: If files contain 8784 rows, instead of 8760 rows as in a non-leap year, a warning will appear.
Subsidies that are fixed now show you the currency of the project, instead of showing “EUR”.
New power source now comes with a default name “New power source”. You can easily update that name by simply clicking the headline where the power source name is displayed, or by using the input box for name.
Southern Lights v.1.5.0
We're thrilled to unveil Southern Lights v.1.5.0, marking another step in our journey of continuous improvements, shaped by the valuable feedback from our users. This release brings a major upgrade in our energy system models, designed to further empower your development of green hydrogen projects.
This release will require you to re-simulate any project designs you have previously made in Southern Lights. A notification window will show when you load an old designs.
New Features at a glance:
Faster simulations, with up to 10x speed, thanks to our optimized calculation algorithms.
A brand new cost input structure with greater flexibility in assigning costs. For a complete intro of the new cost inputs, please have a look at this tutorial.
You can now define costs in five cost categories (DevEx, CapEx, OpEx, Capital Replacement Costs and Decommissioning Costs) for both Power Sources and Electrolyzers.
Costs can now have an unlimited number of cost entries that are grouped together for convenient overview.
Define costs in three different ways to have full control over the design: “Fixed” costs, “Per unit of” costs, and “% of” costs.some text
"Fixed" costs: Specify an absolute number.
"Per unit of" costs: Specify specific costs that are connected to attributes of each component.
"% of" costs: Make a cost entry that is calculated as a percentage of another cost.
Create a ‘Subsidy’ for any cost or cost group, to see the effect of grants on your total cost metrics.
“Fixed” subsidy: Set an absolute number for your subsidy
“% of Parent”: Sets a percentage of the category, group or entry where the subsidy is applied.
More detailed graphs for cost: New breakdowns of the costs metrics charts allow you to see the pie charts in a division by groups or by components.some text
New breakdowns of the costs metrics charts allow you to see the pie charts in a division by groups or by components
CapEx, OpEx, and Present Values of Costs are now also displayed in the Quick results bar to the right.
Full results also show tables divided by cost groups or by components with the click of a button.
Opex time-series are now shown for every cost group created. Using the same group names in your components lets you see them stacked together.
Fixes:
Cost definition for stack replacements: The stack cost decrease now works as expected in the new cost structure.
Cost definition for subsidies: Capex subsidy in now applied correctly. Subsidies can be applied to any costs now, and works as expected.
“Years of Operation” and “Construction time” can now be edited for any design. NB! We recommend updating the financial inputs ‘Debt term’ and ‘Depreciation’ when changing ‘Years of operation’ in a design.
Design now always loads correctly when opening an old design (some issues previously)
“Optimization” now runs the simulations with only the ‘Enabled’ Power Sources. Use the Enable toggle to control this
‘Location’ is now an optional input field.
Cost calculations now run regardless of the content of the cost structure. No more mandatory fields for costs.
‘Duplicate design’ now runs faster and now quickly presents you with a new design copy.
‘Complete design’ is right now disabled. This feature will be rebuilt in a coming update - stay tuned.
Southern Lights v.1.3.0
We are excited to announce another release of Southern Lights; v.1.3.0. This update brings both new features and key fixes to enhance your experience and improve the efficiency of your green hydrogen projects.
New Features at a glance:
File Import Enhancements: We've supercharged the file import functionality with support for various time steps and unit conversions, making it seamless for you to integrate diverse data sets into your project simulations. We now also support CSV files in addition to Excel-files (.xlsx). This means you can now directly import CSV files from online tools like renewables.ninja without touching the files. This flexibility ensures that you can test power source inputs with ease, enhancing your project planning.
Fixes:
Optimization Inputs Accuracy: Fixed an issue with the scaling of inputs for electrolyzer size optimization, improving the precision of simulation outputs.
Result Label Units: Corrected unit labels in result displays, providing clearer and more accurate information.
Sales Results Visibility: Addressed the missing average and sum views for Revenue, Net Revenue, and Quantity Shortage in sales results, offering a comprehensive understanding of financial outcomes.
Axis Scaling on Graphs: Improved axis scaling on frequency histogram graphs, enhancing the clarity and readability of data visualizations.
Graphs in Optimization: Resolved scaling issues in optimization graphs, ensuring that data is correctly represented and interpreted.
Financing Page Validation: Fixed a validation error that allowed debt financing values above 100%.
Graph Hovering Functionality: Updated graph hovering features to show the sum of stacked bar charts.
Simulation Reliability: Fixed a bug preventing users from running simulations after an error, improving the platform's reliability and user experience.
Southern Lights v.1.2.0
We are excited to announce the release of Southern Lights v.1.2.0. This update brings both new features and key fixes to enhance your experience and improve the efficiency of your green hydrogen projects.
New Features at a glance:
Optimization of power source inputs: You can now make any power source’s energy input match the rest of the system by running our Simulation-based optimization tool. Just click the Southern Lights logo in the ‘Scaling factor’ field to find the best energy input for your project.
Average Sum Toggle for Graphs: To improve result visualizations, we have added the feature to toggle between average and sum views in all bar graphs. The sum view shows you yearly- and monthly sums for the full project lifetime.
Improved Result Page: Upgraded the result page looks to show data in a more intuitive way with automatic chart axis scalings and better hover labels.
Fixes:
Project view now displays hydrogen production per day for all designs in a project, making comparison of designs easier
Simulations robustness improved: Introducing an automatic retry mechanism for simulations that encounter issues.
Debt Financing Parameters defaults have been updated to match the project length, making it faster to define finance parameters in new projects.
Fixed issues in sales results to display correct units.
Southern Lights v.1.1.0
We're thrilled to unveil Southern Lights v.1.1.0, marking another step in our journey of continuous innovation and development, shaped by valuable feedback from our users. This release brings a suite of enhancements and new features, designed to further empower your green hydrogen projects.
New Features at a glance:
Power inputs improved: Gain more precise control over your project simulations, for example by adjusting your imported files with a scaling factor.
Easier feedback and support requests:We'e made it easier to share your thoughts with a “Support” button that notifies our support team directly. Use it whenever you have questions or need help.
Enhanced Result Visualization: Quick results have been reordered for clarity, and results have gotten more improvements, making it easier to interpret your project data.
Feature Specifics:
“Scaling Factor” has now been added to the “Import File” section of a power source. This allows you to increase or decrease your power profiles by a multiplicator.
Import file has a new description to help you know what file formats are supported.
Stacked bar charts now have totals, as well as the selected label, showing when you hover a bar.
The Quick Results Bar (the section to the right) is now showing graphs in the same order as the simulation flow, to always show the most relevant data on the top.
Added new charts for looking at the sales revenue over time.
Southern Lights v.1.0.0
It is with immense excitement that we announce the launch of Southern Lights v. 1.0.0, a new chapter in our software's evolution, meticulously crafted with insights and feedback from our invaluable users like you. This is our first release note for the new product and serves as a starting point for the logging of our continuous development. More detailed tutorials and learning will come out in the following weeks.
New Features at a glance:
Greater Flexibility with Multiple Power Sources: Now integrate a mix of energy sources (for example off-grid configurations or grid+renewables), providing diverse options for powering your electrolyzer plants.
Multiple Step-by-Step Simulation Types: Benefit from the new workflow of running stepwise simulations to gain insights throughout the project design process.
Simulation-Based Optimization Framework: Automatically calculate the most profitable or efficient configurations, minimizing costs like LCOH or maximizing output and sales. Now available for finding the optimal electrolyzer plant size and the optimal sizing of a power source.
Enriched Electrolyzer Catalog: Explore a wider range of electrolyzer options, reflecting the latest advancements and industry expertise.
Expanded Business Model Options: Tailor your project with more choices in the sales of hydrogen to represent your commercial structure and production goals accurately.
Feature Specifics:
Results are now presented in the “quick results bar” on the right side, to give quick insights that inform your next step in the design process. Full results are always available by extending the results window.
Improved cash flow statement from the financial models.
Exporting simulation results is now available when a design has been completed. This allows you to export your data as CSV or JSON in yearly, monthly, or daily time resolution.
Duplicate designs now allow you to make a copy of any of your favorite designs.
Multiple power sources now allow you to independently define their prices (in currency/MWh). The costs associated with each power source are presented.
When defining “Yearly change rate [%/year]” for the energy provided by a power source you can now specify both increases (positive values) as well as decreases (negative values) in the available power over time.
We'd like to hear from you
We're excited for you to explore these updates and look forward to hearing your feedback. If you have any ideas, questions or need additional support, please contact our support team.
Also, check out our blog which contains more articles and learning resources that are helpful for hydrogen project development.
To get more updates and tutorials, join our community on Slack where we frequently post news. Also have a look at our onboarding materials folder for more resources to get you started.
