Life Cycle Assessment of Autonomous Electric Field Tractors in Swedish Agriculture

Oscar Lagnelöv, Gunnar Larsson, Anders Larsolle and Per-Anders Hansson
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Oscar Lagnelöv: Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Gunnar Larsson: Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Anders Larsolle: Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Per-Anders Hansson: Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 20, 1-24

Abstract: There is an increased interest for battery electric vehicles in multiple sectors, including agriculture. The potential for lowered environmental impact is one of the key factors, but there exists a knowledge gap between the environmental impact of on-road vehicles and agricultural work machinery. In this study, a life cycle assessment was performed on two smaller, self-driving battery electric tractors, and the results were compared to those of a conventional tractor for eleven midpoint characterisation factors, three damage categories and one weighted single score. The results showed that compared to the conventional tractor, the battery electric tractor had a higher impact in all categories during the production phase, with battery production being a majority contributor. However, over the entire life cycle, it had a lower impact in the weighted single score (−72%) and all three damage categories; human health (−74%), ecosystem impact (−47%) and resource scarcity (−67%). The global warming potential over the life cycle of the battery electric tractor was 102 kg CO 2 eq.ha −1 y −1 compared to 293 kg CO 2 eq.ha −1 y −1 for the conventional system. For the global warming potential category, the use phase was the most influential and the fuel used was the single most important factor.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; battery electric vehicle; tractors; environmental impact; agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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