IEA Task 46: LCA of electric trucks, buses, two-wheelers and other vehicles

The HEV TCP has the aim to create balanced and objective information on forward-looking electric-, hybrid and fuel cell vehicles and to compile this information for governmental institutions and local decision makers.

The working program of the HEV TCP includes a broad information exchange of programs and technologies in each of its member countries, studies on energetic and environmental effects of electric vehicles and an analysis of necessary infrastructure and storage technologies. Moreover trends and technological requirements of future hybrid vehicles are analysed. There is an international consensus that the environmental effects of electric vehicles in comparison to other propulsion systems and energy carriers can only be assessed based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); this covers the production of the vehicle and its necessary infrastructure, the operation of the vehicles including the supply of the energy carriers and the end-of-life of the vehicle and its components. For that reason, the HEV TCP has tasks dealing with LCA since 2011.

The objective of this R&D service is the participation in Task 46 „LCA of Electric Trucks, Buses, Two-Wheelers and other Vehicles“ with the work on the internationally agreed topics and the managing of the task as Operating Agent.

The Task is based on the previous HEV tasks 30 „Assessment of Environmental Effects of Electric Vehicles“ (2016 - 2021) and expands its focus on passenger vehicles (M1) to further UNECE-classes like two-wheelers, bus, heavy and delivery trucks, and other working machines (L, M, N) with its necessary charging infrastructure. The main emphasis of the internationally agreed topics is the elaboration of a common LCA approach for this vehicle classes among the participating countries. This common approach will give the IEA as organisation as well as the participating partner countries a better, fact based comparison of environmental effects of alternative propulsion systems based on electricity, which are battery electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and e-fuel vehicles with an internal combustion engine in comparison to conventional fuels. The LCA results are documented at least in one case study for each considered vehicle class.

The main objectives of the task are:

1. Elaboration and deepening of a common approach to LCA methodology of the considered vehicle classes within the participating countries and the IEA, in which a focus is put on the assessment on “climate neutrality” and “circularity”
2. Elaborate LCA case studies on buses (urban and rural), trucks (last mile and long distance), 2-wheelers and other working machineries including the necessary charging infrastructure, which are based on technology and system descriptions established in cooperation with other HEV tasks
3. Organisation and execution of three international expert workshops

Expected results

• Austria takes over the role of the Operating Agent in order to lead and coordinate the task as the fulfilling of the report obligations to the ExCo.
• Collection and sharing of (partial) results from Austrian research and innovation projects in the task activities
• Organisation of an expert workshop in Austria with broad and active integration of Austrian stakeholders and zero-emission (ZEM) projects
• Comparison and assessment of the achieved LCA results from the case studies and processing of the results including recommendations for action for the BMK and national stakeholders
• Dissemination of task results to relevant target groups, with a focus on logistic service provider and clients in industry, and as a regular content oriented exchange with the BMK and the participation in the national advisory board (once per year)
• Publication of the results on the IEA and other national platforms e.g. open4innovation