IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/inecol/v14y2010i6p929-946.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Payback for Lightweighted Vehicles Using Aluminum and High‐Strength Steel

Author

Listed:
  • Hyung‐Ju Kim
  • Colin McMillan
  • Gregory A. Keoleian
  • Steven J. Skerlos

Abstract

In this article we consider interactions between life cycle emissions and materials flows associated with lightweighting (LW) automobiles. Both aluminum and high‐strength steel (HSS) lightweighting are considered, with LW ranging from 6% to 23% on the basis of literature references and input from industry experts. We compare the increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with producing lightweight vehicles with the saved emissions during vehicle use. This yields a calculation of how many years of vehicle use are required to offset the added GHG emissions from the production stage. Payback periods for HSS are shorter than for aluminum. Nevertheless, achieving significant LW with HSS comparable to aluminum‐intensive vehicles requires not only material substitution but also the achievement of secondary LW by downsizing of other vehicle components in addition to the vehicle structure. GHG savings for aluminum LW varies strongly with location where the aluminum is produced and whether secondary aluminum can be utilized instead of primary. HSS is less sensitive to these parameters. In principle, payback times for vehicles lightweighted with aluminum can be shortened by closed‐loop recycling of wrought aluminum (i.e., use of secondary wrought aluminum). Over a 15‐year time horizon, however, it is unlikely that this could significantly reduce emissions from the automotive industry, given the challenges involved with enabling a closed‐loop aluminum infrastructure without downcycling automotive body structures.

Suggested Citation

  • Hyung‐Ju Kim & Colin McMillan & Gregory A. Keoleian & Steven J. Skerlos, 2010. "Greenhouse Gas Emissions Payback for Lightweighted Vehicles Using Aluminum and High‐Strength Steel," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 14(6), pages 929-946, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:14:y:2010:i:6:p:929-946
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-9290.2010.00283.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2010.00283.x
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2010.00283.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Francesco Del Pero & Massimo Delogu & Martin Kerschbaum, 2020. "Design of a Lightweight Rear Crash Management System in a Sustainable Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-20, June.
    2. Laura C. Aguilar Esteva & Akshat Kasliwal & Michael S. Kinzler & Hyung Chul Kim & Gregory A. Keoleian, 2021. "Circular economy framework for automobiles: Closing energy and material loops," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(4), pages 877-889, August.
    3. Zhou, Wenbin & Cleaver, Christopher J. & Dunant, Cyrille F. & Allwood, Julian M. & Lin, Jianguo, 2023. "Cost, range anxiety and future electricity supply: A review of how today's technology trends may influence the future uptake of BEVs," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    4. Burd, Joshua Thomas Jameson & Moore, Elizabeth A. & Ezzat, Hesham & Kirchain, Randolph & Roth, Richard, 2021. "Improvements in electric vehicle battery technology influence vehicle lightweighting and material substitution decisions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    5. Yue Ren & Xin Sun & Paul Wolfram & Shaoqiong Zhao & Xu Tang & Yifei Kang & Dongchang Zhao & Xinzhu Zheng, 2023. "Hidden delays of climate mitigation benefits in the race for electric vehicle deployment," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    6. Paul Wolfram & Qingshi Tu & Niko Heeren & Stefan Pauliuk & Edgar G. Hertwich, 2021. "Material efficiency and climate change mitigation of passenger vehicles," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(2), pages 494-510, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:14:y:2010:i:6:p:929-946. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1088-1980 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.