A first step towards slowing down the global rise in temperature is to reduce the fossil CO2 emissions that are firmly anchored in our production, energy and transport systems. These fossil CO2 emissions occur during production, operation and final recycling of products and processes. With the help of life cycle analysis, these CO2 emissions of products and processes are made visible and thus tangible and assessable. In the context of the transport sector, there is a diversification of powertrain technologies, some of which have very low or no tank-to-wheel emissions. However, this consideration should not be regarded as complete, as both the production of the energy or the energy carrier and the production of the vehicles are disregarded. An evaluation of the total emissions (cradle-to-grave) of a vehicle over its life cycle results in a holistic evaluation approach that is indispensable for an appropriate assessment of these products. In this paper, life cycle models for different current powertrain technologies are presented. To draw an appropriate comparison of these technologies, three representative vehicle variants are evaluated and the product carbon footprint for the production of these vehicles is compared. This article was first published at the 45th International Vienna Motor Symposium.
Session:
Electric Powertrains II
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| 09:00 - 09:30