Life-cycle assessment of a charging hub for electric trucks
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Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master's Thesis
Master's Thesis
Program
Industrial ecology (MPTSE), MSc
Publicerad
2023
Författare
Dahlberg, Gustav
Ramirez Rodriguez, Juan Pablo
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
This thesis aims to quantify the environmental impacts of constructing and operating a charging hub for
electric trucks. The research questions are: (i) What are the life cycle environmental impacts of a charging
hub?, and (ii) In what stage of the life cycle do the highest environmental impacts occur?
A life cycle assessment (LCA) of the collaborating company’s charging hub is conducted, from cradle to
grave. Four different scenarios are examined to evaluate the impacts: (i) a 7-year operational lifetime with
low usage, (ii) a 7-year operational lifetime with high usage, (iii) a 21-year operational lifetime with low
usage, and (iv) a 21-year operational lifetime with high usage. The LCA was performed using the
openLCA software with the Ecoinvent 3.9.1 cutoff database. Inventory data was obtained directly from
the company as well as adapted from literature. The impacts were evaluated for two impact categories:
climate change using the global warming indicator, and mineral resource scarcity, using two different
impact assessment methods – the surplus ore indicator and the crustal scarcity indicator.
The results showed that the production and use phases are the most impacting phases in terms of climate
change, with the highest production-related emissions owing to the production of electrical hardware,
such as charging power units and the compact secondary substation. Furthermore, the production stage
has the greatest impact for both the crustal scarcity and the surplus ore indicators in relation to mineral
resource scarcity. A sensitivity analysis was performed by varying the amount of the printed circuit
boards (PCBs). A decrease in PCBs showed a notable decrease in the overall environmental impacts of
the hub.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
Life cycle assessment , charging station , environmental impacts , electric truck , fast charging