LONGRUN Partners VUB and TUG have jointly develop a standalone platform (GUI tool) for LCA calculations with a focus on lifetime carbon footprint (gCO2eq/km) and overall energy consumption (kWh/km). The tool profits from the large collection of LONGRUN LCA data, and vehicle specifications, fuel/energy consumption and TTW tailpipe emissions from the LONGRUN simulation platform to generate detailed LCA results.
Final version of the tool is now ready and is currently undergoing partners’ validation.
Figure 1: LCA tool
Learn more about the LCA tool in this video:
The generated results file includes overall lifetime carbon footprint (gCO2eq/km), energy consumption (kWh/km) and its distribution among the three main sources: (1) Vehicle production and disposal; (2) Well To Tank (WTT); (3) Tank To Wheel (TTW) aspects. Type of fuel, electrical propulsion energy source, component and vehicle production sources with their required electricity and heat, are also presented along with their corresponding contributions to the above-discussed life cycle impact. This helps in visualizing the influence of individual aspects on carbon footprint and energy consumption to give a better idea on design recommendations for future environment-friendly HD powertrains.
This standalone LCA tool functions in a synchronized manner with the LONGRUN simulation platform and later also with VECTO to feature back-to-back usage and analysis of changing vehicle designs and their effect on lifetime carbon footprint and overall energy expenditure.
Interfacing of the tool with the LONGRUN simulation platform is being assured through an auto generated vehicle data file containing all important vehicle specifications, mass values, energy carrier, fuel/electrical energy consumption, TTW emissions and other parameters. This file structure could later also be generated from other sources (VECTO) or filled manually to use the standalone LCA tool.
For further information, please contact Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Prof. Omar Hegazy (omar.hegazy[at]vub.be) or dr. ir. Mohamed El Baghdadi (Mohamed.El.Baghdadi[at]vub.be).