Developing a Life Cycle Assessment model for an electric motorcycle

Sammanfattning: Transport is one of the most carbon-intensive sectors in the world today. With increasing global population and economy, the share of emissions is expected to rise. Electric vehicle is one of promising technology that helps address this challenge. The electric vehicle segments of companies have broadened, and their sales have increased in the past decade. The electric motorcycle sector is growing fast, with the development of improved technology on electric powertrains, increased ranges, charging speeds and infrastructure. Parallel to the sales of these vehicles, the electric battery sector is advancing rapidly, thereby lowering the environmental impacts of these vehicles. The competitive adventure sport sector also benefits from using electric powertrains by taking advantage of their power-to-weight ratio and instant torque. The benefits of using electric vehicles can be seen during the use phase with zero tailpipe emissions and clean, silent riding. But with the expansion of the electric motorcycle sector rolling out new technologies and models, there are uncertainties as to whether the overall lifecycle of the vehicles have reduced impacts on the environment. To make improvements and to find the most sustainable models or solutions, it is important to analyse the impacts of the electric bikes on the environment.A case study has been performed at CAKE 0 Emission AB, in Stockholm, Sweden for the purpose of evaluating potential environmental impacts of KALK OR, an off-road electric two wheeler. This is achieved by carrying out a stand-alone assessment of KALK OR, to identify potential environmental hotspots. The study investigated the potential of manufacturing the motorcycle fossil-free. Attributional life cycle assessment was employed as a methodology with an explicit focus on nine impact categories at midpoint level. The results of the study indicated Suspensions, Frame, and battery to be the highest contributor of environmental impact. The common among them is one material, Aluminium. Battery on the other hand contributes highly on mineral resource scarcity, 26%. Other aspects and assumptions are also analyzed further using a sensitivity analysis, which shows the scope for decreasing KALK OR’s environmental footprint. Using this findings, three companies were selected to help reduce the environmental impact and their emission reduction potential was evaluated. It was found that using recycled aluminium could significantly reduce the global warming impact by 15% and the overall reduction from the Cleanest dirt bike ever project at the time of study could be 29.06%. Based on the results, it is recommended to use recycled aluminium. Additionally, from the various transport scenarios, it is recommended to avoid flight as that could lead to massive environmental impact.