Integrating Energy System Models
in Life Cycle Management
Miguel F. Astudillo, Kathleen Vaillancourt, Pierre-Olivier Pineau
and Ben Amor
Abstract The energy supply chain is the backbone of industrialised societies, but it
is also one of the leading causes of global environmental burden. Life cycle
management (LCM) and life cycle assessment (LCA) are increasingly being used in
combination with energy system optimisation models (ESOM) to better represent
the energy sector and its dynamics, and facilitate better decision-making. The
integration of ESOM and LCA can enable powerful analyses, but not without
difficulties. In this chapter, we review studies linking a well-known bottom-up
ESOM (TIMES) with LCA databases and identify the principal challenges and how
they have been addressed. One of the main integration challenges is the identification of equivalent processes between life cycle inventories and ESOM databases:
the mapping problem. Other concomitant issues such as double counting and
parameter consistency have been identified and are also investigated.
1 Introduction
The economic growth observed in the last century has been heavily correlated with
a sharp rise in energy use, improving living conditions for many, but also resulting
in large environmental damage [1]. For instance, the energy sector is responsible for
nearly two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions [2]. Therefore, there is an
urgent need to transform the energy supply chain, decarbonising electricity supply
M. F. Astudillo (&) Á B. Amor (&)
Department of Civil Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke,
LIRIDE, Sherbrooke, Canada
e-mail: miguel@astudillo.com
B. Amor
e-mail: ben.amor@usherbrooke.ca
K. Vaillancourt
Esmia Consultants, Montreal, Canada
P.-O. Pineau
HEC Montreal, Chair in Energy Sector Management, Montreal, Canada
© The Author(s) 2018
E. Benetto et al. (eds.), Designing Sustainable Technologies,
Products and Policies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66981-6_28
249
in Life Cycle Management
Miguel F. Astudillo, Kathleen Vaillancourt, Pierre-Olivier Pineau
and Ben Amor
Abstract The energy supply chain is the backbone of industrialised societies, but it
is also one of the leading causes of global environmental burden. Life cycle
management (LCM) and life cycle assessment (LCA) are increasingly being used in
combination with energy system optimisation models (ESOM) to better represent
the energy sector and its dynamics, and facilitate better decision-making. The
integration of ESOM and LCA can enable powerful analyses, but not without
difficulties. In this chapter, we review studies linking a well-known bottom-up
ESOM (TIMES) with LCA databases and identify the principal challenges and how
they have been addressed. One of the main integration challenges is the identification of equivalent processes between life cycle inventories and ESOM databases:
the mapping problem. Other concomitant issues such as double counting and
parameter consistency have been identified and are also investigated.
1 Introduction
The economic growth observed in the last century has been heavily correlated with
a sharp rise in energy use, improving living conditions for many, but also resulting
in large environmental damage [1]. For instance, the energy sector is responsible for
nearly two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions [2]. Therefore, there is an
urgent need to transform the energy supply chain, decarbonising electricity supply
M. F. Astudillo (&) Á B. Amor (&)
Department of Civil Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke,
LIRIDE, Sherbrooke, Canada
e-mail: miguel@astudillo.com
B. Amor
e-mail: ben.amor@usherbrooke.ca
K. Vaillancourt
Esmia Consultants, Montreal, Canada
P.-O. Pineau
HEC Montreal, Chair in Energy Sector Management, Montreal, Canada
© The Author(s) 2018
E. Benetto et al. (eds.), Designing Sustainable Technologies,
Products and Policies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66981-6_28
249