🤖 Can AI Really Deliver Reliable Technoeconomic Analysis (TEA)? Where It Works & Where Experts Are Essential

Gustavo Valente
Feb 13
3 min read

Recently, I've seen some companies offering AI-generated TEAs as a cheap and quick alternative to producing TEAs, but fast and cheap don’t always mean accurate.

Artificial Intelligence is changing the way we work. As a Spanish speaker, it helps me tremendously in refining my English writing. I love how it enhances productivity. But when it comes to Technoeconomic Analysis (TEA), I’ve seen firsthand how AI-generated results can be misleading, incomplete, or even flat-out wrong if not properly reviewed.

This isn’t about resisting change, I fully embrace AI where it adds value. It’s about understanding its limitations and where professional expertise is essential to ensure the data is accurate, reliable, defensible, and actionable.

That’s why I wrote this, to highlight where from my perspective AI is useful, where it falls short, and why having an experienced TEA professional review AI-generated models is crucial for startups, investors, and decision-makers.

AI IN TEA: WHERE IT’S HELPING

One of the most time-consuming parts of TEA is gathering and structuring background data, whether from research papers, industry publications, patents, or supplier catalogues. AI can help.

1️⃣ FASTER DATA PROCESSING 📊

✅ AI can quickly scan vast amounts of information from literature, patents, or market reports. ✅ AI can extract relevant data and structure it into tables that can be used in Excel-based TEA models. ✅ AI can suggest efficient production methods by evaluating a wide range of sources.

📍 Where it adds value: AI speeds up data gathering and allows TEA professionals to focus on deeper scenario analysis instead of manual research.

AI retrieves data, but it doesn’t validate it. TEA experts must cross-check AI-generated data with reliable sources to ensure the final analysis is accurate, reliable and defensible.

🚨 WHERE AI FALLS SHORT & WHY EXPERTS ARE STILL ESSENTIAL 🚨

🚨 1. UNVERIFIABLE DATA & "HALLUCINATIONS"

AI often makes up sources, referencing non-existent research papers, pricing models, or case studies.

Some AI platforms I have reviewed don’t disclose where their data comes from, making verification impossible.

🔍 Why TEA expertise is needed: An experienced consultant knows where to find real industry data and can spot unrealistic AI-generated figures before they lead to inaccurate results.

🚨 2. AI DOESN'T UNDERSTAND CONTEXT-SPECIFIC CONSTRAINTS

AI can predict theoretical process efficiencies, but does it account for real-world engineering limitations?
Many AI-generated models assume lab-scale results can scale directly, ignoring the complexities of scaling up industrial production.

🔍 Why TEA expertise is needed: A human TEA expert understands the intricacies of manual or automated production practicalities at different processing scales and the bottlenecks, uncertainties, and trade-offs that AI might miss.

🚨 3. LEGAL & COMPLIANCE RISKS

Investors expect defensible financial models with traceable and reliable data sources.
AI-generated TEAs often lack transparency on where the numbers come from.

🔍 Why TEA expertise is needed: A professional ensures all data points are backed by reliable sources, making the analysis useful for investors and relevant stakeholders.

THE BEST APPROACH: AI + HUMAN EXPERTISE FOR RELIABLE TEAS

AI is not the enemy, it’s a useful assistant. But the key is knowing when to use it and when expert oversight is necessary.

✅ AI is great for:

🔹 Processing large datasets quickly

🔹 Exploring processing methods, current practices, industry standards, available technologies,

🔹 Identifying high-level trends

❌ AI needs human oversight for:

🔹 Ensuring cost and process assumptions are realistic

🔹 Verifying data sources and avoiding misinformation

🔹 Contextualizing technical and economic feasibility

🚀 The Winning Formula? AI + Expert TEA Oversight

As a TEA consultant, I embrace AI, which enhances efficiency. However, I would never recommend presenting AI-generated results without expert review and validation. Any investor, founder, or decision-maker should ask for revision and validation.

USE AI TO ENHANCE TEA, NOT REPLACE EXPERTISE

AI is an innovative and exciting tool, but trusting it blindly could be costly. If you’re using AI in TEA, make sure you have an experienced professional to review, verify, and refine your model, ensuring that every number presented to investors and relevant stakeholders holds up under scrutiny.