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This work aims to evaluate the Life Cycle of the current electricity mix (2018, considering Eurostat data) and future (2030, considering European reference scenario) of some European Union member states (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Portugal and Spain), to be compared with the results obtained for the Italian case.The major efforts by the European Commission have been in containing climate-altering emissions: this has been seen in the policies that the different countries considered have adopted. According to the 2030 scenarios, there is an average reduction of 42% in the impacts on Climate change, the best result after acidification (impact category closely linked to the first). Only one country does not show a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions: Belgium. In this country, the end of nuclear power and the increase of imports and gas causes an increase in emissions by 2030.The reduction of Climate change emissions has gone to the detriment of another impact category, the consumption of resources (mineral, fossil and renewable), which has seen an increase in precisely those countries that have reduced CO2 emissions the most: Spain, France and Portugal.

Sodium-ion batteries are considered promising alternatives to lithium-ion technology; however, the diffusion on a commercial scale is hindered by the struggle to identify materials with high electrochemical performances. Studies available in the literature are mainly focused on electrochemical performance and neglect aspects related to the environmental sustainability. In fact, the current state-of-the-art (presented in this study) shows that life cycle assessment (LCA) studies related to the production processes of electrode materials for Na-ion batteries are still very limited. The LCA methodology applied during the development of a technology phase can constitute a valid support for an eco-oriented design and, therefore, to the choice of solutions characterized by a lower environmental impact with the same electrochemical performance. In this context, a life cycle-based environmental–economic assessment was performed to evaluate the environmental impacts of the production process of cathode and anode materials for sodium-ion batteries. The study is focused on the cathodic active material Na0.66MnO2, considering two synthesis paths, and the anodic material consisting of tin (Sn) and Sn-carbon nanofiber (Sn-Cn) active material, binder, and other additives. Results illustrate the environmental performance of the different materials and constitute a useful input for their selection within an eco-design view.

With the proliferation of e-commerce, the field of last-mile logistics has grown increasingly, highlighting the need to manage the environmental consequences of this phenomenon, especially to achieve decarbonization targets for cities and to improve citizens’ quality of life. Within this framework, the authors carried out a last-mile logistics life cycle assessment, to analyse and compare different logistics vehicle options performing the same service in an urban context: an electric four-wheel cargo bike, an electric van, a plug-in hybrid van, and a diesel van. The assessment shows that the e-cargo bike performs better for all the impact categories considered. The second-best option is the e-van, while the diesel van shows the worst environmental results. Focusing on decarbonization, the replacement of a diesel van with an electric one or with an e-cargo bike allows a reduction of 173 g CO2 eq/km and 250 g CO2 eq/km, respectively. Similar results are obtained for Photochemical Ozone Formation with associated emissions of 0.18, 0.31, 0.45 and 0.49 g NMVOC eq/km for the e-cargo bike, e-van, plug in hybrid van and diesel van, respectively. The only exceptions are Human Health impact categories, Acidification and Respiratory inorganics, for which the plug-in hybrid van performs worst, and Resource use, Mineral and Metals, for which the electric van performs worst.

The introduction of stationary storage systems into the Italian electric network is necessary to accommodate the increasing share of energy from non-programmable renewable sources and to reach progressive decarbonization targets. In this framework, a life cycle assessment is a suitable tool to assess environmental impacts during the entire life cycle of stationary storage systems, i.e., their sustainability. A Li-ion battery (lithium–iron–phosphate (LFP), nickel–manganese–cobalt (NMC) 532, and NMC 622) entire life cycle assessment (LCA) based on primary and literature data was performed. The LCA results showed that energy consumption (predominantly during cell production), battery design (particularly binder choice), inventory accuracy, and data quality are key aspects that can strongly affect results. Regarding the battery construction phase, LFP batteries showed better performance than the NMC ones, but when the end-of-life (EoL) stage was included, NMC cell performance became very close to those of LFPs. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses, done using the Monte Carlo methodology, confirmed that the results (except for the freshwater eutrophication indicator) were characterized by a low dispersion and that the energy mix choice, during the different battery life phases, was able to greatly influence the overall impact. The use of primary and updated data related to battery cell production, like those used in the present paper, was necessary to obtain reliable results, and the application to a European production line is an item of novelty of this paper.

The study presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Italian electricity scenarios, devised in the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (INECP). A fully representative LCA of the national electricity system was carried out, taking into consideration a great number of different power plant typologies for current (2016 and 2017) and future (2030) electricity mixes. The study confirms that LCA can be a powerful tool for supporting energy planning and strategies assessment. Indeed the results put in evidence not only the improvement of the environmental profile from the current to the future mix (the impacts decrease from 2016 to 2030 due to the transition towards renewables, mainly wind and photovoltaic), but also underline the difference between two scenarios at 2030 (being the scenario that includes the strategic objectives of the INECP to 2030 the one showing best environmental profile), providing an evaluation of the effect of different energy policies. For example, in the INECP scenario CO2 eq/kWh is 46% lower than current scenario and 37% lower than business as usual scenario for 2030. Moreover, considering different impact categories allowed to identify potential environmental trade-offs. The results suggest also the need of future insight on data related to photovoltaic technologies and materials and their future development.

In electric and hybrid vehicles Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), batteries play a central role and are in the spotlight of scientific community and public opinion. Automotive batteries constitute, together with the powertrain, the main differences between electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles. For this reason, many decision makers and researchers wondered whether energy and environmental impacts from batteries production, can exceed the benefits generated during the vehicle’s use phase. In this framework, the purpose of the present literature review is to understand how large and variable the main impacts are due to automotive batteries’ life cycle, with particular attention to climate change impacts, and to support researchers with some methodological suggestions in the field of automotive batteries’ LCA. The results show that there is high variability in environmental impact assessment; CO2eq emissions per kWh of battery capacity range from 50 to 313 g CO2eq/kWh. Nevertheless, either using the lower or upper bounds of this range, electric vehicles result less carbon-intensive in their life cycle than corresponding diesel or petrol vehicles.