WorldAutoSteel announced today the release of an updated model for vehicle life cycle assessment (LCA), the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) GHG Material Comparison Model-June 2010. The newly updated Excel-based model now includes steel emissions data from the 2010 World Steel Association’s (worldsteel) global steel Life Cycle Inventory(LCI) and the most recent (2005) dataset provided by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI).

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Using an LCA approach reveals that the lightest material is not necessarily the least carbon intensive. In this video, Dr. Geyer explains why.

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The objective of this study is to benchmark, in terms of their life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, vehicle body-in-white designs based on advanced high-strength steels (AHSS), like ULSAB-AVC, as well as aluminium, compared to designs based on mild steel. This article provides an executive summary of the report, and the parametric model in an Excel worksheet for download and use and the study's methodology report.

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Understanding Life Cycle Assessment
When many people think about automotive greenhouse gases (GHGs), they tend to focus solely on tailpipe emissions, or what vehicles emit during their driving or use phase. But for a complete understanding of how a material affects the environment—from its initial production, use and end-of-life disposal or recyclability phases—many scientists are adopting a Life Cycle Assessment, or LCA, method. To view a brief animated presentation on how LCA works click here.
See carlist.com Interview with Bill Reinert. National Manager, Advanced Technology Group, Toyota Motor Sales USA at aobut Toyota’s life cycle assessment programme and their well-to-wheel evaluations of fuel cell vehicles and hybrids.

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