The CO₂-emissions are rapidly rising with new records and the transport sector is considerably contributing to GHG emissions. The critical transition towards electrification and sustainable development demands a radical change in the transport industry. One of many solutions is to analyze the environmental benefits of optimized vehicle production and recycling of the vehicle components after its usable life to reduce dependency on limited raw materials. Electric motor is one of the most crucial powertrain components, yet studies on the overall ecological profile of production and end of its useable life is limited. This study examines the life cycle assessment (LCA) impacts of electric motors used in passenger cars and potential recycling of its materials. The analysis covers production and recycling of components, crucial elements, and permanent magnets. The results show that housing and rotor production have the highest impacts mainly due to steel, aluminum and permanent magnets. The findings discuss e-motor recycling innovations, state-of-the-art methods and emission reduction potentials of recycling. This paper also covers the understanding that a significant transformation to optimize the resource consumption in manufacturing of crucial vehicle powertrain component and reduce waste after end-of-life could bring combined ecological advantages.

Freight transport decarbonisation is essential to achieving climate neutrality targets, particularly for energy-intensive refrigerated heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) operations. Vehicle-integrated photovoltaics (VIPV) offer the potential to partially offset electricity demand and enhance energy autonomy. This study presents an operational environmental performance of a refrigerated battery-electric truck equipped with rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels, developed within the ESCALATE project. Route-specific simulations for Germany and the United Kingdom were conducted under Base (grid-only) and Offset (PV-assisted) scenarios using the Environmental Footprint 3.0 method. Annual PV yields of 1640 kWh (DE) and 1550 kWh (UK) displaced less than 0.5% of total electricity demand, avoiding 619 and 380 kg CO ₂ -eq/year, respectively. Although roof-only PV remains limited under current constraints, results demonstrate feasibility and highlight the importance of grid mix and system configuration, providing insight into VIPV’s role in freight decarbonisation.

CO₂ emissions are rapidly rising with new records, and the transport sector is considerably contributing to GHG emissions. The critical transition towards electrification and sustainable development demands a radical change in the transport industry. One of many solutions is to analyze the environmental benefits of optimized vehicle production and recycling of the vehicle components after their usable life to reduce dependency on limited raw materials. The electric motor is one of the most crucial powertrain components, yet studies on the overall ecological profile of production and the end of its usable life are limited. This study examines the life cycle assessment (LCA) impacts of electric motors used in passenger cars and the potential recycling of their materials. The analysis covers the production and recycling of components, crucial elements, and permanent magnets. The results show that housing and rotor production have the highest impacts, mainly due to the presence of steel, aluminum and permanent magnets. The findings discuss e-motor recycling innovations, state-of-the-art methods and emission-reduction potentials of recycling. This paper also covers the understanding that a significant transformation to optimize the resource consumption in the manufacturing of crucial vehicle powertrain components and reduce waste after end-of-life could bring combined ecological advantages.