An LCA study by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences focused on synthetic power-to-gas as fuel for transportation with a Volkswagen Golf as reference
car [6]. It showed that if synthetic power-to gas is produced with renewable energy,
it emits less GHG per kilometre than fossil gas. Though at the moment, the Swiss
grid mix includes a high share of nuclear power so that the electricity consumption
of the electrolysis causes 51% of the overall impact. Additional recommendations
are improving the electrolysis efficiency and using industrial waste gases as carbon
dioxide source rather than atmospheric carbon dioxide to be competitive with
conventional natural gas production.
The Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
assessed whether hydrogen is a suitable automotive energy carrier in Japan [7]. It
was assumed that the hydrogen would be produced in Australia and subsequently
transported to Japan. The LCA study showed that the hydrogen source, producer
and transport need to be evaluated regionally in order to give meaningful results.
Generally, liquid hydrogen should be produced with renewable energy to reduce its
environmental impact. Within the assessed scenarios, hybrid vehicles cause the
overall lowest environmental impact followed by hydrogen-powered and
gasoline-powered vehicles.
The German Stahlinstitut VDEh developed regional specific datasets for flat
steel products that facilitate a detailed analysis along the value chain [8]. The
motivation for realizing the project was providing suitable data for customers and
governments interested in modelling steel recycling. As steel producers either use
iron ore or scrap to produce flat steel, both strategies are available in the datasets. In
order to model steel recycling, the multiple recycling approach was applied. As a
result, after including six recycling steps, the carbon dioxide burden of 1 kg of steel
is reduced by 50%.
2 Policy Framework
A study presented by the Technical University Berlin proposes an approach to
foster sustainable mobility by integrating a life cycle perspective in automotive
legislation [9]. Although policies concerning the automotive sector are becoming
more relevant they do not include an LCA point of view yet but mainly focus on
regulating tailpipe emissions. As the introduction of BEVs is shifting the environmental burden from the use to the production phase, a life-cycle approach in
policies is needed to display this development. Instead of introducing a single
life-cycle based policy tailored to vehicles, voluntary credit options should be
operationalized within existing systems. Until now, automotive OEMs have no
policy advantage if they save emissions in the production. Therefore, a credit
transfer should be facilitated that values low-carbon innovations in the manufacturing phase. Hence, improving the environmental burden of vehicles throughout
the whole life cycle becomes more attractive for OEMs.
LCM for Transport and Mobility
179
car [6]. It showed that if synthetic power-to gas is produced with renewable energy,
it emits less GHG per kilometre than fossil gas. Though at the moment, the Swiss
grid mix includes a high share of nuclear power so that the electricity consumption
of the electrolysis causes 51% of the overall impact. Additional recommendations
are improving the electrolysis efficiency and using industrial waste gases as carbon
dioxide source rather than atmospheric carbon dioxide to be competitive with
conventional natural gas production.
The Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
assessed whether hydrogen is a suitable automotive energy carrier in Japan [7]. It
was assumed that the hydrogen would be produced in Australia and subsequently
transported to Japan. The LCA study showed that the hydrogen source, producer
and transport need to be evaluated regionally in order to give meaningful results.
Generally, liquid hydrogen should be produced with renewable energy to reduce its
environmental impact. Within the assessed scenarios, hybrid vehicles cause the
overall lowest environmental impact followed by hydrogen-powered and
gasoline-powered vehicles.
The German Stahlinstitut VDEh developed regional specific datasets for flat
steel products that facilitate a detailed analysis along the value chain [8]. The
motivation for realizing the project was providing suitable data for customers and
governments interested in modelling steel recycling. As steel producers either use
iron ore or scrap to produce flat steel, both strategies are available in the datasets. In
order to model steel recycling, the multiple recycling approach was applied. As a
result, after including six recycling steps, the carbon dioxide burden of 1 kg of steel
is reduced by 50%.
2 Policy Framework
A study presented by the Technical University Berlin proposes an approach to
foster sustainable mobility by integrating a life cycle perspective in automotive
legislation [9]. Although policies concerning the automotive sector are becoming
more relevant they do not include an LCA point of view yet but mainly focus on
regulating tailpipe emissions. As the introduction of BEVs is shifting the environmental burden from the use to the production phase, a life-cycle approach in
policies is needed to display this development. Instead of introducing a single
life-cycle based policy tailored to vehicles, voluntary credit options should be
operationalized within existing systems. Until now, automotive OEMs have no
policy advantage if they save emissions in the production. Therefore, a credit
transfer should be facilitated that values low-carbon innovations in the manufacturing phase. Hence, improving the environmental burden of vehicles throughout
the whole life cycle becomes more attractive for OEMs.
LCM for Transport and Mobility
179