Advancing energy efficient early-stage vehicle design through inclusion of end-of-life phase in the life cycle energy optimisation methodology

Environmentally-friendly energy-efficient vehicles are an important contributor to meet future global transportation needs. To minimise the environmental impact of a vehicle throughout its entire life cycle, the life cycle energy optimisation (LCEO) methodology has been proposed. Using the proxy of life cycle energy, this methodology balances the energy consumption of vehicle production, operation and end-of-life scenarios. The overall aim is to design a vehicle where life cycle energy is at a minimum. While previous work only included vehicle production and operation, this paper aims at advancing the LCEO methodology by including an end-of-life phase. A simplified design study was conducted to illustrate how vehicle design changes when end-of-life treatment is included. Landfilling, incineration and recycling have been compared as end-of-life treatments, although the focus was put on recycling. The results reveal that the optimal design not only changes with the inclusion of an end-of-life phase but it changes with specific end-of-life treatment.