1,721,015 research outputs found
Lifetime extension of products and Circular Economy. Applications in key sectors for the EU: household appliances and traction batteries.
Get PDFL'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen
"Available for Collection" study on alternative collection targets for waste portable and light means of transport batteries
Get PDFThis study provides the technical background to consider the setting of a collection target for portable batteries and batteries powering light means of transport (LMT), in the light of the evolution of their market share. This work contributes to the preparation of the implementation of the draft Battery regulation proposed by the European Commission in December 2020, especially concerning collection provisions for waste portable batteries. This study is intended to provided additional evidence to the discussion on targets for the collection of waste batteries, in addition to the information presented in the EC Document SWD(2020)335.
The Commission proposal for a Regulation on Batteries (COM(2020)798 final) includes targets for the collection rate of waste portable batteries based on the Batteries Directive (EC/2006/66), which makes use of the Placed On The Market approach (POM). For the moment, these targets exclude batteries powering Light Means of Transport (LMT). Instead, the proposal contains a review clause that requires the setting of a separate collection target for waste batteries powering LMT in the light of the evolution of the market. This review could consider introducing a calculation methodology for the calculation of the separate collection rate with a view to reflecting the quantity of waste batteries available for collection.
In view of the initial reactions from the EU co-legislators, the Commission took on the commitment to explore the possibility to establish collection rate targets based on the quantities available for collection, including as regards LMT batteries, in the ongoing legislative process.
The assessment of a possible definition of batteries in LMT products, their potential market evolution and various options for modernising the collection targets for waste portable and LMT batteries aims therefore to support that process. Due to the complexity of the topic and in order to disentangle various factors mutually affecting both the definition of LMT and the collection target, a structured reasoning is hereby proposed in this report supporting the decision process, substantiated by a parallel quantitative assessment
Life Cycle Assessment of lubricating grease (from-cradle-to-gate)
No full textIn the framework of the EU-FP7 research project AddNANO, the environmental impacts and the resource consumption associated to the production of 1 kg of a lubricating grease were assessed through a from-cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The collaboration with industrial partners facilitated the collection of primary data and helped avoid scale-up assumptions. Where necessary, patents were used for filling data gaps, as confidentiality of information affect the availability of inventory data among the international literature. The Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) results highlight the relevance of thickeners and additives despite their low quantity. Moreover, this paper points out the necessity of a stricter collaboration between the research and the industry sectors in order assure the representativeness of data. Finally, this LCA could represent a starting point for more in-depth analyses, which can address also other life-cycle phases of lubricating grease
How will second-use of batteries affect stocks and flows in the EU? A model for traction Li-ion batteries
Get PDFAlthough not yet developed in Europe, second-use of traction batteries enables an extension of their lifetime and potentially improves life cycle environmental performance. Li-ion batteries (LIBs) offer the most promising chemistry for traction batteries in electric vehicles (xEVs) and for second-use. Due to the novelty of the topic and the expected increase of e-mobility in the next decades, more efforts to understand the potential consequences of second-use of batteries from different perspectives are needed. This paper develops a dynamic, parameterised Material Flow Analysis (MFA) model to estimate stocks and flows of LIBs after their removal from xEVs along the specific processes of the european value-chain. Direct reuse, second-use and recycling are included in the model and parameters make it customisable and updatable.
Focusing on full and plug-in electric vehicles, LIBs and energy storage capacity flows are estimated. Stocks and flows of two embedded materials relevant for Europe were also assessed (cobalt and lithium). Results showed that second-use corresponds to a better exploitation of LIBs’ storage capacity. Meanwhile, Co and Li in-use stocks are locked in LIBs and their recovery is delayed by second-use; depending on the slower/faster development of second-use, the amount of Co available for recycling in 2030 ranges between 9% and 15% of Co demand and between 7 and 16% for Li. Uncertainty of inputs is addressed through sensitivity analysis.
A variety of actors can use this MFA model to enhance knowledge of second-use of batteries in Europe and to support the effective management of LIBs along their value-chain
Environmental and economic assessment of durability of energy-using products: Method and application to a case-study vacuum cleaner
No full textThe article focuses on the quantitative assessment of the benefits and/or burdens of extending the lifetime of products. Longer lasting products can be less efficient than newer one, implying higher energy consumption, environmental impacts and costs. The article illustrates a set of indicators, named "Pro-EnDurAncE" (Environmental and Economic Assessment of Durability of Products), developed for the assessment of products durability from both environmental and economic perspectives. Pro-EnDurAncE indicators have been structured to capture various relevant aspects, as the impacts and costs of the studied product and of potentially replacing products, the maintenance and repair, the lifetime extension and the use of energy and auxiliary materials during the operation. The proposed indicators were illustrated upon a case-study vacuum cleaner. It resulted that extending the lifetime of this product produce environmental and economic benefits in the large majority of scenarios considered. For example, when the impacts of repair are negligible, the extension of the lifetime by 250 h (i.e. 5 years) avoids around 4.2% of Global Warming Potential impact compared to the replacement of the vacuum cleaner with a new one 15% more energy efficient. Analogously, despite the occurring repair costs, the economic benefits for extending the lifetime by 250 h are equal to 40€ (i.e. about 8.6% of the life cycle costs) compared to the replacement with a new product 15% more energy efficient. The article concludes that the Pro- EnDurAncE indicators are applicable to investigate the durability of products in several different scenarios and they are robust and flexible since the assessment can based on a large number of parameters and different scenarios. These indicators can be used to assess product at the design stage or to support policy measures to promote more durable products
Ten years of scientific support for integrating circular economy requirements in the EU ecodesign directive: Overview and lessons learnt
Get PDFThe paper presents and analyses the REAPro Research programme led at the JRC that allowed the Commission to move from the formulation in 2011 of a general policy need to improve circularity of products through design, to the concrete implementation in 2019 of innovative and ambitious circular economy criteria in entry market European legislation. This policy innovation entailed the robust development of complementary components along the policy process, including policy agenda setting (better formulation of the policy need), policy formulation (e.g. identification of indicators to measure resource efficiency of products), and policy implementation (initiation of standardization activities). The paper looks back into 10 years of scientific support to policy and draws some conclusions concerning the needs of scientific support for policy making
LCA of tungsten disulphide (WS2) nano-particles synthesis: state of art and from-cradle-to-gate LCA
No full textIn the framework of the EU-FP7 research project AddNano, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been adopted for assessing the environmental performances of the gas phase reaction process for the synthesis of WS2 nano-particles. A literature review highlighted data gaps due to lack in cross-communication between stakeholders and the low availability of LCA studies and data concerning nanotechnologies, as well as concerning specific stages of the nanoparticles life cycle. In this framework a from-cradle-to-gate LCA of the large-scale production of IF-like WS2 nano-particles was performed. The strict collaboration with the industry permitted to retrieve primary industrial data, avoiding scale-up simplifications, which represents a novelty in the field of LCA of nanomaterials (NMs). Results prove that the synthesis of nanosized WS2 is highly energy-consuming and the raw material with the higher contribution is the tungsten trioxide, that is also the most important in terms of weight. This study, especially in respect to primary data collection from an industrial process, can stimulate further dialogue with the industry, which in turn can be beneficial to further reduce data gaps
Critical Raw Materials for Strategic Technologies and Sectors in the EU. A Foresight Study
No full textThis study looks at the supply chains of the nine technologies below used in the three strategic sectors renewable energy, e-mobility, defence and aerospace.
It also attempts to provide a first answer, based on available knowledge and models, to where future challenges lie and how competition for resources may evolve
Life Cycle Assessment of repurposed electric vehicle batteries: an adapted method based on modelling energy flows
No full textAfter their first use in electric vehicles (EVs), the residual capacity of traction batteries can make them valuable in other applications. Although reusing EV batteries remains an undeveloped market, second-use applications of EV batteries are in line with circular economy principles and the waste management hierarchy. Although substantial environmental benefits are expected from reusing traction batteries, further efforts are needed in data collection, modelling the life-cycle stages and calculating impact indicators to propose a harmonized and adapted life-cycle assessment (LCA) method.
To properly assess the environmental benefits and drawbacks of using repurposed EV batteries in second-use applications, in this article an adapted LCA is proposed based on the comparison of different scenarios from a life-cycle perspective. The key issues for the selected life-cycle stages and the aspects and parameters to be assessed in the analysis are identified and discussed for each stage, including manufacturing, repurposing, reusing and recycling.
The proposed method is applied to a specific case study concerning the use of repurposed batteries to increase photovoltaic (PV) self-consumption in a given dwelling. Primary data on the dwelling’s energy requirements and PV production were used to properly assess the energy flows in this specific repurposed scenario: both the literature search performed and the results obtained highlighted the relevance of modelling the system energy using real data, combining the characteristics of both the battery and its application. The LCA results confirmed that the environmental benefits of adopting repurposed batteries to increase PV self-consumption in a house occur under specific conditions and that the benefits are more or less considerable depending on the impact category assessed. Higher environmental benefits refer to impact categories dominated by the manufacturing and repurposing stages. Some of the most relevant parameters (e.g. residual capacity and allocation factor) were tested in a sensitivity analysis. The method can be used in other repurposing application cases if parameters for these cases can be determined by experimental tests, modelling or extracting data from the literature
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