(390bb) A Systems Platform for Decarbonization Pathways: Empowering Decision-Making with Sesame Sustainability

Achieving economy-wide decarbonization requires rigorous systems-level analysis that integrates engineering fundamentals, techno-economic modeling, lifecycle assessment, and evolving policy incentives. However, existing tools are often fragmented, inaccessible, or lack the transparency and flexibility needed for actionable decision-making.

This presentation introduces Sesame, a software platform developed to streamline the evaluation of decarbonization technologies and pathways across sectors including energy, fuels, chemicals, and heavy industry. Sesame enables users to model emissions, costs, and system interactions across multiple technologies—ranging from hydrogen production and carbon capture to sustainable fuels and clean electricity—while accounting for regional policy incentives and evolving market conditions.

We demonstrate Sesame’s capabilities through real-world case studies, including:

• Comparative techno-economic and lifecycle performance of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) from HEFA, Fischer-Tropsch, and Alcohol-to-Jet pathways

• Power outage risk analysis and reliability planning for large infrastructure systems

• Cost-of-avoided-carbon visualization under different state and federal policy scenarios

By integrating transparent data modules, customizable inputs, and policy-aware analytics, Sesame empowers researchers, engineers, policymakers, and investors to design optimized low-carbon strategies with speed and clarity.

The session will also explore how Sesame supports collaborative workflows, model transparency, and knowledge sharing—helping bridge the gap between engineering modeling and real-world climate impact.