At first glance the results of the presented techno-economic
analysis of the two-stage fermentative process are not encouraging.
Based on the current state of knowledge, industrial-scale
fermentative conversion of molasses into hydrogen cannot be
competitive due mainly to high costs of the photofermentation
stage. This statement may be extended to hypothetical cases of
molasses being replaced by other technical sugar solutions, i.e. raw
juice or thick juice, that can be obtained from a beet sugar factory. It
should however be noted that at the start of project HYVOLUTION
in the beginning of 2006, the commercialization of its results was
foreseen not earlier than 2015, understood as a possible date of
creation of the European hydrogen market. Consequently,it would
be premature to definitively evaluate the application potential of two-stage hydrogen fermentation using process data available
shortly after project closure in 2010.