Scalable Life-Cycle Inventory for Heavy-Duty Vehicle Production

Sebastian Wolff, Moritz Seidenfus, Karim Gordon, Sergio Álvarez, Svenja Kalt and Markus Lienkamp
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Sebastian Wolff: Institute of Automotive Technology, Technical University of Munich, Boltzmannstraße 15, 85748 Munich, Germany
Moritz Seidenfus: Institute of Automotive Technology, Technical University of Munich, Boltzmannstraße 15, 85748 Munich, Germany
Karim Gordon: Institute of Automotive Technology, Technical University of Munich, Boltzmannstraße 15, 85748 Munich, Germany
Sergio Álvarez: Institute of Automotive Technology, Technical University of Munich, Boltzmannstraße 15, 85748 Munich, Germany
Svenja Kalt: Institute of Automotive Technology, Technical University of Munich, Boltzmannstraße 15, 85748 Munich, Germany
Markus Lienkamp: Institute of Automotive Technology, Technical University of Munich, Boltzmannstraße 15, 85748 Munich, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 13, 1-22

Abstract: The transportation sector needs to significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions. European manufacturers in particular must develop new vehicles and powertrains to comply with recent regulations and avoid fines for exceeding C O 2 emissions. To answer the question regarding which powertrain concept provides the best option to lower the environmental impacts, it is necessary to evaluate all vehicle life-cycle phases. Different system boundaries and scopes of the current state of science complicate a holistic impact assessment. This paper presents a scaleable life-cycle inventory (LCI) for heavy-duty trucks and powertrains components. We combine primary and secondary data to compile a component-based inventory and apply it to internal combustion engine (ICE), hybrid and battery electric vehicles (BEV). The vehicles are configured with regard to their powertrain topology and the components are scaled according to weight models. The resulting material compositions are modeled with LCA software to obtain global warming potential and primary energy demand. Especially for BEV, decisions in product development strongly influence the vehicle’s environmental impact. Our results show that the lithium-ion battery must be considered the most critical component for electrified powertrain concepts. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of considering the vehicle production phase.

Keywords: truck; heavy-duty; powertrain; environment; life-cycle inventory; life-cycle engineering; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:13:p:5396-:d:380131

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