Every decision-oriented life cycle assessment (LCAs) entails, at least to some extent, a future-oriented feature. However, apart from the ex-ante LCAs, the majority of LCA studies are retrospective in nature and do not explicitly account for possible future effects. In this review a generic theoretical framework is proposed as a guideline for ex-ante LCA. This framework includes the entire technology life cycle, from the early design phase up to continuous improvements of mature technologies, including their market penetration. The compatibility with commonly applied system models yields an additional aspect of the framework. Practical methods and procedures are categorised, based on how they incorporate future-oriented features in LCA. The results indicate that most of the ex-ante LCAs focus on emerging technologies that have already gone through some research cycles within narrowly defined system boundaries. There is a lack of attention given to technologies that are at a very early development stage, when all options are still open and can be explored at a low cost. It is also acknowledged that technological learning impacts the financial and environmental performance of mature production systems. Once technologies are entering the market, shifts in market composition can lead to substantial changes in environmental performance.

Nowadays, a vast number of concrete structures are approaching the end of their expected service life. The need for maintenance and repair is high due to the continued deterioration of the existing building inventory and infrastructure, resulting in a large need for concrete repair in the near future. Reinforcement corrosion is the most important deterioration mechanism, causing (i) severe concrete damage (cracking along reinforcement and the spalling of the cover concrete) and (ii) loss in steel section. Therefore, appropriate repair techniques for corrosion damage are the main focus of this review paper. With the European transition towards a circular economy and with sustainable development goals in mind, it is also important to consider the environmental impact along with the technical requirements and life cycle cost. In order to improve the sustainability of concrete structures and repairs over their life cycle, life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) should be applied. However, more research efforts are needed in this field for further development and refinement. This literature review tries to adress this need by compiling existing knowledge and gaps in the state-of-the-art. A comprehensive literature survey about concrete repair assessment through LCA and LCCA is performed and showed a high potential for further investigation. Additionally, it was noticed that many differences are present between the studies considering LCA and/or LCCA, namely, the considered (i) structures, (ii) damage causes, (iii) repair techniques, (iv) estimated and expected life spans, (v) LCCA methods, (vi) life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods, etc. Therefore, due to the case specificity, mutual comparison is challenging.