LCA and design for sustainable circularity - holistic approach for zero-emission mobility solutions and related battery value chain (2ZERO & Batteries Partnership)

The project addressing this “Batteries-2Zero” Joint Call approaches a commonly accepted Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of zero-emission road transport solutions, focussing on zero-emission vehicles and their batteries, as one of their central components, as well as other applications of the same types of battery cells (e.g. industrial, stationary applications etc.).

Proposals are expected to provide for coordinated activities on LCA and Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) at vehicle and cell levels, to define and develop a unique and shared approach with common methodologies for both zero-emission vehicles and the battery value chain. The project’s main governance (e.g. Steering Group, Advisory Board) is expected to provide for direct involvement of relevant stakeholders from the automotive and battery sectors, as well as relevant European Commission services. Close cooperation with running EU-funded projects performing LCA in these sectors will also be expected to maximise synergies and reduce duplication of efforts.

The project’s results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• A consensus concept for a harmonised, robust, transparent and real-data based LCA approach and tools (also with consideration for extension to social Life Cycle Assessments, S-LCA), with an emphasis on light-duty and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) and batteries; enabling the assessment of the sustainability performance and evaluation of optimal designs along the value chain and over the full life-cycle (cradle-to-cradle), also taking into account the need of comparing with conventional solutions.
• New, holistic and applicable quantitative tools to drive an approach to the design of ZEV, their components and batteries.
• Take into account in particular uptake of the Renewable Energy both for manufacturing processes and for information to the end users.
• A harmonised strategy for sustainability by design, describing requirements and specifications of tools for all life-cycle phases required to improve the environmental performance of ZEV and batteries, including their components and sub-systems.
• A commonly accepted ontology for a European-wide LCI database for zero emission vehicles and batteries, including all sub-systems and components, and using real data for the present and short-term future, whilst using provisional data, based on trajectories for the reduction of GHG emissions in the Power, Industry and Transport sectors, and use cases, including pre-defined data quality indicators.
• Greater environmental sustainability and lower TCO (total cost of ownership) through consistent and frontloaded real-data based assessment of technologies and solutions, with extension to other sectors using the same cells and technologies.
• Alignment of on-going harmonisation and standardisation activities relevant for a road transport-specific LCA approach, with emphasis on ZEV and the related battery value chain.
• In line with existing or upcoming legislation, and based on guidance from the EC, agree on the common access to the database, including, where this could be necessary for the Member States/Associated Countries to inform their policies.
• Increased awareness and acceptance of a European-wide, battery and road transport-specific LCA approach and LCI database.

In order to make the best, most informed choices in terms of sustainability, it is of utmost importance for zero emission road transport to have the right tools to assess technologies, non-technical measures and product life cycle processes in a holistic way. In selecting the right technologies for clean and sustainable mobility at a system, vehicle and component level, the ecological footprint and the impact of technologies upon society have to be assessed, based on highly reliable data at an early stage of development and planning in a harmonised and comparable way.

Proposals are expected to address all the following:

• Screening, collecting and evaluating existing LCA and S-LCA needs, methodologies, tools datasets and metrics, to identify and overcome knowledge gaps, to identify development needs in current methodologies and tools, as well as to identify the impact reduction potential for ZEV and batteries.
• Elaborate a consensus LCA (and S-LCA) approach specific for zero-emission solutions, with an emphasis on light-duty and heavy-duty ZEV and the related battery value chain, suitable for the full life-cycle (cradle-to-cradle) whilst expanding the existing complexity of an environmental LCA to assess and compare the impact of solutions in a holistic way, and reflecting the needs of a resource-efficient circular economy.
• Elaborate the baseline for a Europe-wide, commonly accepted, road transport sector LCA approach and LCI database for ZEV and the related battery value chain, based on real data or on provisional data based on trajectories for the reduction of GHG emissions in the Power, Industry and Transport sectors, ensuring openness, accessibility and transparency, implementing the FAIR data principles^[1], whilst ensuring applicability to existing technologies.
• Taking into account existing and upcoming legislation, under policy guidance of the EC, define access to the database, for purposes of policy makers, including to the authorities of the Member States, where appropriate.
• Promote the uptake of Renewables in manufacturing processes and information on renewables to the end users. Harmonise across all stakeholders for methodologies, tools, datasets and metrics as well as for target criteria, to help improve consistency, robustness and transparency, and to address important gaps in transport-specific LCA and LCI, with focus on ZEV and the battery value chain. It is of utmost importance to involve all stakeholders, including the European Commission services, Member States/Associated Countries and standardisation bodies, to ensure the acceptance and succeeding implementation of the LCA approach and LCI database.
• Conceptualise the frontloading of a LCA and S-LCA for ZEV and the related battery value chain, at an early stage of development and planning, in a harmonised and comparable way, ensuring the compatibility and comparability with (conventional) alternatives.
• Definition of use cases for ZEV and batteries, representative of real-world conditions (e.g. for activity, lifetime, impacts linked to the specific duty-cycle and accounting for user behaviour) and the exemplary characterisation and calculation of impacts from zero-emission vehicle components, through applying the consensus LCA approach, and assessing the variability inherent to key real-world parameters.
• Elaborate the potential and outline the transfer of the consensus LCA and S-LCA for other applications, such as fuel cells or stationary battery systems, or markets such as aerospace or maritime.
• This work should build upon both recent existing EC- and stakeholder-funded research (such as the eLCAr project and the reports “Circular Economy Perspectives for the Management of Batteries used in Electric Vehicles” and “Determining the environmental impacts of conventional and alternatively fuelled vehicles through LCA”^[2], aiming at aligning ongoing activities within this context towards a single LCA approach. Cooperation and exchange of experience and data with running projects performing LCA of batteries and cells is also expected to enrich the results.

The selected projects are invited to participate to BRIDGE^[3] activities when considered relevant.

This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnerships on ‘Towards zero emission road transport’ (2ZERO) and ‘Towards a competitive European industrial battery value chain for stationary applications and e-mobility’.

EOSC and FAIR data
Co-programmed European Partnerships

[1]Final Report and Action Plan from the European Commission Expert Group on FAIR Data, “TURNING FAIR INTO REALITY” - https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_0.pdf

[2]“Circular Economy Perspectives for the Management of Batteries used in Electric Vehicles” (Hill, N., Clarke, D., Blair, L. and Menadue, H., Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019, ISBN 978-92-76-10937-2 (online), doi:10.2760/537140 (online), JRC117790); “Determining the environmental impacts of conventional and alternatively fuelled vehicles through LCA” (Hill N. et a., 2020, DG CLIMA),

[3]https://www.h2020-bridge.eu/