In this work an LCA approach has been applied on an electric car prototype. In particular a city car was taken into account, because it presents several innovations for saving weight, in order to obtain more operating ranges.
The study has calculated the energy consumption and the emissions for the production, use and recycling phases of the following components: space-frame in aluminium and RTM, magnesium alloy seat, SMC outer body parts, glasses, motor drive and Pb-gel batteries.
The data for the Inventory were taken out from the databases for the raw materials extraction and from manufacturing sites for all the production steps. In the calculation the transports and the close-loop recycling were taken into account.
The Use-phase was calculated with a simulation software, developed by Fiat Research Center. The analysis allowed to modelize the electrical car and to evaluate the main performances in according with the city cycle ECEELECT.
At the end, the study has valuated one or more different solutions for the panel parts; different materials as SMC and aluminium were taken in consideration for the energy and emissions evaluation.
The emissions are grouped for the calculation of GWP, Nutrient Enrichment and Acidification.