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.

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.

Biomasses and bio-waste have an important role in decarbonizing the European energy mix, the latter contributing to the transition towards a circular economy. In particular, Refuse Derived Fuel (RFD) - a biofuel obtained from dry residue of waste - appears a really interesting energy option. In this framework this study aims at assessing the environmental profile of electricity generation from RDF in Italy, comparing two different kinds of RDF production and combustion plants. The functional unit is 1 kWh of net electricity from RDF delivered to the grid. Two Italian plants are examined: one located in Ravenna (RDF is produced in a direct flow treatment plant) and the other one in Bergamo (RDF is produced in a unique flow treatment plant and electricity is generated in a cogenerator). Results show that, comparing the plants, it is not possible to identify an option for RDF production or electricity generation characterized by lowest impacts for all the examined impact categories. However, cogeneration process and the avoided burdens due to the valorisation of ferrous metals and dry fractions during RDF production can reduce most of the environmental impacts. A dominance analysis reveals that chimney direct emissions generated during RDF combustion significantly contribute to some impact categories, as well as electricity consumption during RDF production. Furthermore, disposal of incineration wastes is a relevant contributor to human toxicity and freshwater eutrophication. The eco-profile of electricity from RDF is compared with electricity from the Italian grid and from multi-Si PV. The comparison highlights that electricity from RDF performs worse for relevant environmental impact categories such as climate change, human toxicity and photochemical oxidant formation. On the other hand, electricity from RDF performs better than electricity from the grid and from photovoltaic for resource depletion, an impact category of growing importance in the framework of circular economy.

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.