A life-cycle assessment tool for heavy-duty vehicles

Report Nº 3/24: This report is the supporting document to the life-cycle assessment tool for heavy- duty vehicles (HDVs) developed by IFP Energies nouvelles and commissioned by Concawe that was published in July 2023. It describes the simulation background behind the tool.

Transport related GHG emissions represent approximately a quarter of the European Union (EU) greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, of which, commercial road transport represents approximately a third. Therefore reducing GHG emissions from heavy duty road vehicles is an important part of the EU's target to become carbon neutral by 2050.

Several technologies can contribute to heavy duty transport decarbonisation: Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs, or their derivative, Catenary Electric Vehicles (CEVs)), Internal Combustion Engines Vehicles (ICEVs) running on low-carbon fuels (renewable diesel, renewable gas, low-carbon hydrogen), Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs)) and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs). Understanding the benefits and drawbacks of each solution from a life-cycle perspective for a given use case is difficult. The LCA tool described in this report aims at improving this understanding and assist in decision making.