This study presents a techno-economic assessment of algae-derived biodiesel under economic and technical
uncertainties associated with the development of algal biorefineries. A global sensitivity analysis
was performed using a High Dimensional Model Representation (HDMR) method. It was found that, considering
reasonable ranges over which each parameter can vary, the sensitivity of the biodiesel production
cost to the key input parameters decreases in the following order: algae oil content > algae annual
productivity per unit area > plant production capacity > carbon price increase rate. It was also found that
the Return on Investment (ROI) is highly sensitive to the algae oil content, and to a lesser extent to the
algae annual productivity, crude oil price and price increase rate, plant production capacity, and carbon
price increase rate. For a large scale plant (100,000 tonnes of biodiesel per year) the production cost of
biodiesel is likely to be £0.8–1.6 per kg.