Vehicle manufacturing / energy supply (LCA)

Many alternative powertrain options lead to a shift in environmental impacts compared to vehicles with conventional gasoline and diesel combustion engines. On the one hand side, the production of electric and fuel cell vehicles leads to higher environmental impacts due to the additional battery and fuel cell production. On the other hand side, environmental impacts at the tailpipe are avoided, but may be shifted to the energy supply chain, e.g. electricity generation. Synthetic fuels, in turn, which are produced by means of electricity („Power-to-Liquids“ / „Power-to-Gas“), require hardly any adjustments at the power train, the fuel production however, requires large quantities of electricity.

ifeu analyses and evaluates these shifts compared to conventional vehicles using a life cycle approach (life-cycle analysis (LCA)), thus including vehicle production, energy supply and end-of-life aspects. Not only greenhouse gas emissions, but also other environmental impacts and resulting use of resources are considered. Life cycle analyses are mostly carried out with our life-cycle assessment model “eLCAr”, which is continuously updated and further developed.

Contact

Hinrich Helms

Dipl. Geograph (graduate in geography)
+49 (0)6221 4767 33
hinrich.helms@ifeu.de

Projects

Mehrstöckiges Lagerregal in einem Recyclingzentrum mit Reihen von ausgebauten Autotüren und -fenster.

AutoRess

AutoRess examines technical and non-technical options across all vehicle lifecycle phases to reduce the impact of traffic on climate protection and resource consumption.

Analyse der Umweltbilanz von Kraftfahrzeugen mit alternativen Antrieben oder Kraftstoffen auf dem Weg zu einem treibhausgasneutralen Verkehr

Wie können Autos in Zukunft möglichst umweltschonend fahren? In diesem Projekt werden die plausibelsten Kombinationen aus Fahrzeug, Antrieb und Energieträger modelliert und auf ihre Umweltwirkungen…

Assessment of the potential contribution of electricity-based synthetic fuels to archive the transport climate protection goals in Baden-Württemberg

This report examines what contribution electricity-based synthetic fuels could make to reducing transport’s greenhouse gas emissions in Baden-Württemberg. It discusses the necessary framework…

Scientific Support for the Mobility and Fuels Strategy (MFS) of the German Government

Wissenschaftliche Begleitung, Unterstützung und Beratung des BMVBS in den Bereichen Verkehr und Mobilität mit besonderem Fokus auf Kraftstoffen und Antriebstechnologien sowie Energie und Klima