Life Cycle Thinking Approach Applied to a Novel Micromobility Vehicle

Abstract

Although the production of cars has high environmental costs, producing and maintaining micromobility vehicles might consume fewer resources. Likewise, replacing the car with active mobility transportation modes would reduce noise and air pollution. The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology contributes to the study of such environmentally sustainable solutions. We present a “cradle-to-grave” analysis by tracking activity from the extraction of raw materials until the end of the product’s life. The goal was to carry out an LCA of a novel micromobility vehicle, Ghisallo, from a life cycle thinking perspective. The LCA tool, ITF Good to Go? Assessing the Environmental Performance of New Mobility, developed by the International Transport Forum, was used to model the baseline and alternative scenarios. The vehicle’s materials, primary energy sources for battery charging, use of the vehicle as a shared mobility mode, among other factors, were changed to assess energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the life cycle chain. The LCA results of the baseline scenario for Ghisallo were similar to the values of other micromobility vehicles. Energy consumption (MJ) and GHG emissions (grams of equivalent CO2) per vehicle-kilometer (v-km) were 0.36 MJ/v-km and 29 gCO2eq/v-km, respectively. For this personal mobility vehicle, it was concluded that most GHG emissions were from its production (42% of the total). Air transport from the production to sales sites increased its impact by 10%. We present measures to decrease the energy and GHG emissions impacts of a micromobility device’s life cycle.