Saving energy is a fundamental topic considering the growing energy requirements with respect to energy availability. Many studies have been devoted to this question, and life cycle assessment (LCA) is increasingly acquiring importance in several fields as an effective way to evaluate the energy demand and the emissions associated with products’ life cycles. In this work, an LCA analysis of an existent lithium-ion battery pack (BP) unit is presented with the aim to increase awareness about its consumption and offering alternative production solutions that are less energy intensive. Exploiting the literature data about cradle-to-grave and cradle-to-gate investigations, and after establishing reasonable approximations, the main BP sub-elements were considered for this study, such as the plastic cells support, the Li-ion cells brick, the PCBs for a battery management system (BMS), the liquid-based battery thermal management system (BTMS) and the BP container. For each of these components, the impacts of the extraction, processing, assembly, and transportation of raw materials are estimated and the partial and total values of the energy demand (ED) and global warming potential (GWP) are determined. The final interpretation of the results allows one to understand the important role played by LCA evaluations and presents other possible ways of reducing the energy consumption and $C{O}_2$ emissions.

Agricultural tractor testing has become extremely relevant nowadays, representing one of the most effective solutions to validate machines, while assessing productivity forecasts and fuel saving estimations as required by market players. Additionally, experimental activities have been recognized as a powerful tool to support the development of new promising platforms, including hybrid and electric ones. Starting from the state-of-art of agricultural machines power analysis, this paper aims at providing the results of a comprehensive experimental campaign carried out on a specialized tractor operated in Prosecco vineyards, equipped with dedicated implements. The tractor, properly instrumented, is analyzed to understand its power distribution with the different missions. The focus is then posed on the load applied by the implements at power take-off, in order to collect data supporting the preliminary design of a dedicated electric motor replacing the conventional mechanical architecture.