We’ve reimagined how hydrogen and Power-to-X projects are developed, and we’re putting that power in your hands. With the launch of design optimization, Southern Lights becomes the place where you can make critical decisions faster, earlier and more confidently. It’s where your projects become bankable.
Designing the right size and operation strategy for a project has always been a complex, expensive, and slow process. Teams face a maze of questions: How much solar or wind should you build? When should you use or sell grid electricity? How should assets be operated hour by hour to maximize returns?
Answering these has typically meant hiring consultants or technical teams adding time, cost, and friction to early-stage development.
We believe there’s a better way. That’s why we’re introducing design optimization. This is a major upgrade that puts powerful optimization directly into the hands of business developers working on hydrogen, ammonia, and other Power-to-X projects.
No technical background needed.
How the optimization works
Our new feature brings two core capabilities together: optimal sizing and optimal dispatch.
- Optimal sizing helps you determine the most profitable capacities for your electrolyzers, renewable sources, and other components, based on your project constraints and market conditions.
- Optimal dispatch defines how to run those components hour by hour for maximum value across your project’s lifetime.
Behind the scenes, advanced mathematical models drive the process. But on your end, it’s simple: a step-by-step wizard guides you through defining your project. In minutes, you get optimized recommendations you can trust.
And because it’s fully integrated into the Southern Lights platform, you can immediately follow up with simulation, financial analysis, and reporting. All in the same workspace.
Do you want to see how Southern Lights helps with your project development process? Request a guided demo now!
Empowering smarter project decisions
Until now, early-stage design optimization has often been avoided or outsourced. Either it felt too technical, or it cost too much. That slows down development and limits project quality.
With our new Power-to-X optimization, that barrier disappears. You can:
- Define key project constraints and goals without needing technical experts.
- Get optimized sizing and dispatch strategies quickly and easily.
- Reduce reliance on external consultants and speed up project timelines.
- Build stronger, data-driven business cases with higher confidence.
By making optimization accessible, we help you move faster and make better decisions right from the start.
Further reading: Hydrogen project optimization: What it is and why it matters
Further reading: Optimization, simulation & financial modeling: How smart energy companies de-risk decisions and drive project success
More capabilities, same seamless experience
Southern Lights has always helped users simulate and assess Power-to-X projects. With optimization now built in, you can tackle more strategic questions even earlier.
Previously, you would define a project, run simulations, and manually perform sensitivity analyses to refine designs. Now, you can begin with design optimization and receive instant guidance on configurations and operational strategies. From there, seamlessly move into detailed design work, financial modeling, and risk assessments in a continuous, streamlined workflow.
It’s a significant step forward in empowering business developers to drive projects from concept to feasibility, faster, and more independently.
Accessible optimization for every team
By translating complex mathematical formulations into simple, guided steps, we make it easy to define optimization problems and get reliable results. Whether you’re determining the right project size before permitting applications or preparing data-backed presentations for management and investors, you can now work more independently and back your proposals with confidence.
“The user defines their project goals and constraints, and we translate that into an optimization problem using all the technical rules behind each component. The hard part happens behind the scenes.” says Pierfrancesco Losi, Energy Modeling Engineer at Southern Lights.
This not only speeds up project development. It helps teams act earlier, reduce uncertainty, and engage investors with conviction.
Transform your development journey
We invite you to explore the new optimization feature and experience how it can transform your project development process. Built to help you answer critical questions early and streamline your workflow, it reduces risk and improves project outcomes.
At Southern Lights, we’re proud to put powerful, intuitive tools in your hands so you can move faster, make smarter decisions, and build the future of energy with confidence.
