TRANSPORT AND ENERGY LIFE CYCLE RESEARCH

As of today, about 80% of the world’s primary energy supply still comes from fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas), the rest being provided by nuclear (7%) and renewable energy sources (13%). The share of renewable energy specifically being used for electricity generation is slightly higher at approximately 18%; the vast majority of the latter is currently supplied by hydroelectric dams (88%), with waste, biomass, solar photovoltaics (PV), geothermal and wind making up the rest in variable percentages. The rest of the produced energy is mainly used for heating and cooling or transport.

With growing concern about the ongoing degradation of the environment which is directly and indirectly caused by the exploitation of fossil fuel resources (enhanced global warming due to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, pollution caused by combustion engine and boiler exhausts, oil spills, coal slurry, etc.), more and more attention is being turned to renewable energy options, which typically entail virtually non-existent emissions during their use phase, and are thus perceived as quintessentially “green”. However, many renewables still often suffer

from comparatively high capital costs, and sometimes even low social acceptability because of poor aesthetics. Moreover, most renewable electricity generation devices are intrinsically intermittent, and need to be correctly integrated within the larger regional or national grid in order to make the most of their potential. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a powerful approach to evaluate the potential benefits of introducing transport or logistic alternatives, as well as new renewable energy technologies into the electricity production mix, by taking into account their full life cycles (from the extraction of the required materials to the manufacturing and eventual disposal of the power plants). Through a proper LCA the inherent trade-offs of the available options may be highlighted at once, and the potential risk of inadvertently replacing known environmental problems with other less apparent ones in different life cycle phases or geographic regions is greatly reduced.

Finally, the results of a Carbon Footprint analysis (in itself a sub-set of LCA) may also be useful as a strong argument in support of those organizations that are willing to become and be recognized as more environmentally sustainable.

www.unescochair.es

UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change

RENIA (2010-2013) “Solar installations life-cycle applications”This Project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, aims at producing a new software tool which can be used to eco-design and produce Environmental Product Declarations for building-integrated solar thermal and solar photovoltaic installations. The tool will be based on a rigorous life cycle analysis framework, and make use of the most up-to-date life cycle inventory data, as well as first-hand input from Spanish manufacturers.

Dr. Marco Raugei Head of Research Line

is an expert in life cycle assessment (LCA) and related approaches based on life cycle thinking (LCT). His PhD work focused on advanced photovoltaic, and in the last ten years he has been active in the field of energy systems and technologies, and PV in particular, taking part in a number of EU, national and international research projects. He is currently visiting scientist at Columbia University (NY, USA), collaborator of Brookhaven National Laboratory (NY, USA) and the Spanish technical representative in Task 12 of the Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme of the International Energy Agency. Email: marco.raugei@esci.es

ContactUNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate ChangeEscola Superior de Comerç Internacional- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (ESCI-UPF)

Passeig Pujades 1, E-08003 Barcelona, EspañaTel. (+34) 93 295 4710Fax. (+34) 93 295 4720unescochair@esci.eswww.unescochair.esci.eswww.giga.cat

Dr. Pere Fullana Director

is Spanish delegate for the ISO 14000 series of standards. He is editor for the International Journal of LCA (IJLCA), former Chair of the SETAC Europe LCA Steering Committee and member of the International Life Cycle Board of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. He has recently taken part as member in the development of the GHG Protocol Product Standard.Dr. Fullana has participated in more than 20 EU funded projects and 150 national research studies in environmental management, LCA, ecodesign, environmental labelling and clean technologies. He has published the UNEP book: “Communication of Life Cycle Information in the Building and Energy Sectors”.

WASTE OIL (2006-2008) “Life cycle considerations on Waste Oils and implications and recommendations for public policy” This project stemmed from the 2005 EC proposal to de-prioritise waste oil regeneration by repeal the Council Directive 75/439/EC on Waste Oils (amended in 1987, 1991 and 2000), due to a previous study commissioned by the EC, which had concluded that there is “no clear overall advantage for waste oil regeneration”. The Catalan Government, the CATOR company and, afterwards, GEIR (Groupement Européen de l’Industrie de la Régénération) contracted GiGa to produce new calculations, which certainly highlighted the benefits of regeneration, stating in which conditions this option is environmentally preferable to burning the oil in cement kilns for energy recovery. The project was a complete success in that it achieved its intended goal to stop the EC from abolishing the existing directive, and instead issue a new compromise text (Directive 2008/98/EC) in which a priority order was set, favouring re-use and recycling over energy recovery.

MANGO (2009-2010) “Carbon footprint of MANGO’s logistic chain” The primary aim of this study was to perform a complete carbon footprint analysis of MANGO’s logistic chain, including all direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions associated to the transportation of the finished goods from the production facilities to the centralized warehouses and on to the final retail stores worldwide, as well as to the operation of the stores, offices and warehouses. MANGO represents a typical case of a fully-optimized centralized logistics system, making the generalized model applicable to a whole range of similarly structured companies.

BNL (2008-2010) “Life Cycle Analysis of CdTe photovoltaic systems, including alternative Cd use and disposal scenarios in the EU” CdTe PV is a relatively new technology that is attracting more and more attention as a promising renewable energy option. Giga’s study, contracted by the Brookhaven National Laboratory (US Department of Energy) in close collaboration with the First Solar Company, focussed on producing new and up-to-date life cycle impact assessment results for CdTe PV, based on first-hand industry data, including the full balance of system and also, for the first time in the sector-specific literature, a detailed analysis of the prospected end-of-life treatment and recycling processes. The analysis included a detailed tracking of the Cd emission flows, which were benchmarked against those from NiCd batteries. Lastly, light was shed on two important, but often neglected, environmental performance issues, namely (i) resource depletion and related ecological damage and (ii) life-cycle net energy performance (EROI analysis).

PROGRIC (2008-2009) “Using Life Cycle Thinking and Assessment for Industrial Waste Management Policy Making”This Project, funded by the Catalan Waste Agency (Spain), produced a number of simplified mathematical models, applicable in a generalized way to a large variety of waste types, with the aim of helping the decision-making process of whether to allow the transit of specific waste flows from specific industrial plants. The models allow the company to find out the longest distance the waste should be allowed to travel from Catalonia, in order to receive a different kind of treatment from the one it would otherwise receive in Catalonia. Cummulative energy demand was used in the models as proxy to the environmental impact. A presentation of this project was given the “Most Relevant Contribution” Award in the LCM 2009 Congress in Cape Town.