This content is not included in
your SAE MOBILUS subscription, or you are not logged in.
Uncertainties in the Life Cycle Assessment of Passenger Vehicles
Technical Paper
2013-01-1279
ISSN: 0148-7191, e-ISSN: 2688-3627
Annotation ability available
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
Reducing the environmental impact of transport on Climate Change is an important policy target and the European Union has been spearheading legislation in this area. However, the EU has chosen, until now, to focus on tailpipe emissions, which only represent the impact of the use phase of the vehicle and leave aside the impacts of material production and car manufacturing as well as the end of life. Anyway, the corresponding regulations have given the direction for car manufacturer to focus on lightweighting, which is an important part of the solution. It is incomplete, however, as a more holistic approach encompassing all the phases of the Life of a vehicle ought to be taken on board, which is exactly what a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is meant to do.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the advantages and the limitations of LCA in the transport sector. Some very different categories of vehicles, in terms of powertrain, power and weight are examined as well as a degree of uncertainty in various LCA variables. The Greenhouse Gas Automotive Materials Comparison Model developed by the University of California Santa Barbara has been used to model these various vehicles.
LCA demonstrates clear differences between many scenarios: the influence of the type of powertrain and of lightweighting - when carried out properly - are obvious. On the other hand, comparing lightweighting materials in terms of GHG emissions often exhibits differences which are less than the uncertainty of the data and thus are inconclusive. Lightweighting with Advanced HSS, however, is clearly a positive solution.
Recommended Content
Authors
Citation
Carvallo, A., Birat, J., Gauriat, A., and Thomas, J., "Uncertainties in the Life Cycle Assessment of Passenger Vehicles," SAE Technical Paper 2013-01-1279, 2013, https://doi.org/10.4271/2013-01-1279.Also In
References
- European Commission Road transport: Reducing CO 2 emissions from vehicles Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/transport/co2/co2_home.htm 2009
- European Environment Agency CO 2 emissions performance of car manufacturers in 2010
- European parliament Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles 2000
- International Standards Organization ISO 14040:2006, Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Principles and framework 2006
- Birat , J. , Guérin , V. , Rocchia , L. , and Tuchman , M. Ecodesign of Automobiles based on the environmental properties of body materials SAE Technical Paper 2004-01-0250 2004 10.4271/2004-01-0250
- Carvallo Aceves , A. Life Cycle Assessment in the Automotive Sector Master Thesis, École des Mines de Nantes France 2010
- Liu , G. , Müller , D. Addressing Sustainability in the Aluminum Industry: a Critical Review of Life Cycle Assessments Journal of Cleaner Production 35 108 117 Nov. 2012
- Contadini , J.F. , Moore , R. Results of a Life Cycle Assessment Using Uncertainty Analysis of Fuel Cell Vehicles Within the South Coast Air Basin of California in 2010 Gate to EHS, Life Cycle Management - LCA Case Studies March 2003 10.1065/ehs2003.03.008
- Basson , L. , Petrie , J.G. An Integrated Approach for the Consideration of Uncertainty in Decision Making Supported by Life Cycle Assessment Environmental Modelling & Software 22 2 167 176 2007 10.1016/j.envsoft.2005.07.026
- Baker , J. , Lepech , M. Treatment of uncertainties in Life Cycle Assessment Database Stanford University
- Lloyd , S. , Ries , R. Characterizing, propagating, and analyzing uncertainty in Life-Cycle Assessment: a survey of quantitative approaches Journal of Industrial Ecology 11 1 2007 10.1111/jiec.2007.11.issue-1
- Ciroth , A. , Fleischer , G. , Steinbach , J. Uncertainty Calculation in Life Cycle Assessments: A Combiend Model of Simulation and Approximation Int J LCA 9 4 216 226 2004 10.1007/BF02978597
- Greenhouse Gas Automotive Materials Comparison Model: Version 3 University of California Santa Barbara World Auto Steel 2012
- World Auto Steel Expert Group
- Geyer , R. Life Cycle Energy and Greenhouse Gas Assessment of Automotive Material Substitution: User Guide for Version 3 University of California Santa Barbara World Auto Steel Jan. 2012
- Mayyas , A. , Qattawi , A. , Raouf Mayyas , A. , Omar , M. Life cycle assessment-based selection for a sustainable lightweight body-in-white design Energy 9 1 412 425 2012 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2011.12.033
- Gauriat , A. 2012
- Birat , J.P. 2012
- Utigard , T. Aluminium versus Steel Production Trends - Past, Present and Future The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society 2004
- Russo P. 2012
- Zackrisson , M. , Avellan , L. , Orlenius , J. Life Cycle Assessment of Lithium-ion Batteries for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles - Critical Issues Journal of Cleaner Production 18 15 1519 1529 2010 10.1016/j.jclepro.2010.06.004
- Lave , L. , Maclean , H. , Hendrickson , C. , Lankey , R. Life cycle Analysis of Alternative Automobile Fuel/Propulsion Technologies Environ. Sci. Technol. 34 3598 3605 2000 10.1021/es991322
- Hawkins , T. , Singh , B. , Majeau-Bettez , G. , Hammer Stromman , A. Comparative Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Conventional and Electric Vehicles Journal of Industrial Ecology 2012 10.1111/j.1530-9290.2012.00532.x
- Technology, Challenges, and the Future of Electric Drive MIT Electric Vehicle Team April 2008
- EU Ponders Recycling Rules for Electric Car Batteries 2011 http://www.euractiv.com/specialreport-recycling-society/eu-ponders-recycling-rules-elect-news-508258
- Tesla Motors Tesla launches battery recycling program throughout Europe 2011 http://www.teslamotors.com/about/press/releases/teslalaunches-battery-recycling-program-throughout-europe