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Marciello, M.; Cusati, V.; Nicolosi, F.; Saavedra-Rubio, K.; Pierrat, E.; Thonemann, N.; Laurent, A. 2024

Evaluating the economic landscape of hybrid-electric regional aircraft: a cost analysis across three time horizons

Article / Letter to editor

under embargo until 2025-01-16

This article presents the results of a prospective cost analysis of future regional aviation solutions, specifically focusing on hybrid-electric regional aircraft for 50 passengers. The study spans three time horizons (short term, medium term, long term) and employs a validated workflow to estimate costs for various solutions, including conventional, hybrid-electric, and hydrogen-based architectures. A specialized cost model is introduced to assess the electric components of the powertrain, emphasizing maintenance expenses and energy costs. Despite the environmental promise of hybrid and electric solutions, the results reveal significantly higher direct operating costs (up to 69.8%) compared to conventional options. The study highlights the importance of targeted policies to incentivize sustainable alternatives, suggesting potential solutions such as discouraging kerosene-based aircraft and promoting sustainable aviation fuel. These insights provide valuable guidance for industry stakeholders navigating the path toward a more sustainable and economically viable aviation future.

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Thonemann, N.; Pierrat, E.; Dudka, K.M.; Saavedra-Rubio, K.; Tromer Dragsdahl, A.L.S.; Laurent, A. 2024

Towards sustainable regional aviation: environmental potential of hybrid-electric aircraft and alternative fuels

Article / Letter to editor

open access

The aviation sector needs to reduce its environmental impacts, like climate change and air pollution. New hybrid-electric aircraft concepts may contribute to abating part of these impacts. But to... Show moreThe aviation sector needs to reduce its environmental impacts, like climate change and air pollution. New hybrid-electric aircraft concepts may contribute to abating part of these impacts. But to what extent and under which conditions? This study addresses these questions in the context of regional aviation and identifies technologies and concrete actions required for more environmentally sustainable aviation. The environmental impacts of emerging hybrid-electric aircraft configurations deployed in 2030, 2040, and 2050 have been comprehensively quantified using prospective life cycle assessment. The entire life cycle of the conventional and hybrid-electric aircraft configurations was encompassed, covering various technologies and systems like batteries, fuel cells, hydrogen, and selected alternative aviation fuel (AAF) systems. For these elements, detailed life cycle inventories stemming from primary data, literature, and prospective environmental databases were used, and uncertainty was evaluated. Results showed that hybrid-electric aircraft with Li-ion batteries appear as a promising transition technology in the short-term while aircraft propelled by fuel cells using hydrogen from electrolysis yield important environmental benefits relative to conventional aircraft in longer time horizons. In contrast, the studied AAFs present little or no environmental benefits when considering environmental impacts holistically, demonstrating the need to revise existing AAF frameworks and incentives globally. Environmental burden-shifting from flight emissions in conventional aircraft systems to airport operations and aircraft manufacturing in hybrid-electric aircraft is also observed in the results, thus calling for strengthened support to airports in their sustainability management and increased integration of ecodesign practices in future aircraft design and development. Show less

Oever, A.E.M. van den; Puricelli, S.; Costa, D.; Thonemann, N.; Philippot, M.L.; Messagie, M. 2024

Revisiting the challenges of ozone depletion in life cycle Assessment

Article / Letter to editor

open access

Recent works have highlighted the interconnected impacts of stratospheric ozone depletion, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and climate change on various sectors, including water quality, agriculture,... Show moreRecent works have highlighted the interconnected impacts of stratospheric ozone depletion, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and climate change on various sectors, including water quality, agriculture, human health, and biodiversity. Increased UV-B exposure has diverse environmental impacts, including potential benefits like enhanced plant resistance and reduced vitamin D deficiency. However, the quantification of these effects remains incomplete. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) serves to quantify the environmental impacts of product systems. This article revisits challenges related to ozone depletion in LCA by reviewing 15 Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods. It is shown that the currently available LCA ozone depletion practices are outdated. The combined effects of outdated background databases and incomplete impact assessment methods must be further investigated. Collaboration with atmospheric scientists and expansion of substances covered by characterization models are required. The study emphasizes the need to address interlinkages between impact categories and recommends climate scenario-dependent characterization for robust decision-making in an uncertain world. Show less

Thonemann, N.; Zacharopoulos, L.; Nühlen, J. 2024

11 - Life cycle assessment of carbon dioxide sequestration

Part of book or chapter of book

metadata only

Arvidsson, R.; Svanström, M.; Sandén, B.A.; Thonemann, N.; Steubing, B.R.P.; Cucurachi, S. 2023

Terminology for future-oriented life cycle assessment: review and recommendations

Article / Letter to editor

open access

PurposeSome future-oriented life cycle assessment (LCA) terms, particularly prospective and ex-ante, show notable increase in use in publications over the last decade. However, scholars have... Show morePurposeSome future-oriented life cycle assessment (LCA) terms, particularly prospective and ex-ante, show notable increase in use in publications over the last decade. However, scholars have pointed out that it is currently unclear exactly what these terms mean and how they are related. This paper aims to explain defining differences between future-oriented LCA terms and provide terminology recommendations.MethodsExisting definitions of future-oriented LCA terms were reviewed and analyzed. Workshops were held where defining differences of future-oriented LCA terms were discussed.ResultsTemporal positionality and technology maturity appear to be two critical aspects of future-oriented LCA. Prospective and ex-ante LCA are similar, with the possible difference that ex-ante LCA always involves an increase in technology maturity in the future. Considering the notable similarities, it seems reasonable to converge terms to mitigate field fragmentation and avoid terminology confusion.ConclusionsTo denote LCA studies with a future temporal positionality, we recommend using the term prospective LCA, defined as “LCA that models the product system at a future point in time relative to the time at which the study is conducted”. Furthermore, since technology maturity is clearly a critical aspect for prospective LCA, we recommend prospective LCA studies to clearly define the maturity of the technologies modeled in the production system. Show less

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