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Audi A6 Life Cycle Assessment
Audi A6 Life Cycle Assessment
Times change. Raw materials are becoming scarcer, emissions are on the
increase and many cultures in various parts of the world are undergoing
major changes. Against this backdrop, careful use of resources is gaining
in importance all the time.
Life cycle assessments (LCA) are important procedures that can help to
reduce the motor vehicle's impact on the environment. Audi not only
assesses the vehicle while it is in use, which mainly concerns its fuel
consumption, but the entire life cycle from production to recycling.
Audi looks one step ahead.
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Life cycle assessment –
what's involved
The life cycle assessment analyses the effects of a product on the Assessment of a vehicle’s
environment during its entire existence, from production to its period complete life cycle as a major
of use and its end-of-life recycling. It is a quantitative evaluation of contribution to more
ecological aspects such as the emission of greenhouse gases (including sustainable treatment of the
carbon dioxide [CO2]), energy consumption, acidification or 'summer environment.
smog'. Audi compiles its life cycle assessments according to the
procedure laid down in the international ISO 14040 series of standards.
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• Development phase: assessment of materials and semi-finished product manufacturing chains
• Production phase: assessment of components and complete vehicles
• Use phase: assessment of fuel/electricity (including production)
• Recycling phase: assessment of process chains of valuable materials
Materials
and production
Production components
Recycling (depending on manu-
facturing concept)
Input Output
Energy Emissions
Raw materials Waste
Use
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Life cycle assessment –
the boundaries
The examination starts with the manner in which raw materials are
obtained, and how individual components are manufactured. Even during
the first new-model development stages the engineering teams have to
take decisions that have major effects on in-house production and the
entire supply chain.
Audi's experts assume for assessment purposes that vehicles will cover
a distance of 200,000 kilometres. They not only take into account the
emissions caused when the vehicle is being driven, but also those that
occur when the fuel is produced. Recycling at the end of the vehicle's life
and the use of secondary raw materials are also included in the life cycle
assessment.
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System boundaries of vehicle LCA
Manufacture
Semi-finished product
Supply → pipeline Recovery of energy
manufacture
Transport → refining and raw materials
provision of fuel
Component manufacture
= product system
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Life cycle assessment –
effect categories
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Effect of substances on the environment
CO2
Global warming potential
Extraction of raw materials
CH4
Eutrophication
Manufacture SO2
Photochemical smog
NOx
Production
Acidification
HC
Utilisation / transport
Ozone breakdown
R11
Recovery / Recycling
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Life cycle assessment –
questions
The central factor that has to be considered in Audi life cycle assessments
is the effect that possible optimisation will have in the various phases of a
vehicle's life.
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Environmentally acceptable lightweight construction
Additional environmental
burden caused
by manufacture of
lightweight materials
Reduced environmental
burden during vehicle
operation as a result of
lightweight construction
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Life cycle assessment –
the influencing factors
Even a single modification can have a negative effect on one of the phases
in the life cycle, but if the drawbacks are more than compensated for in
another phase, the balance is then positive. In practice this means that
the extra effort and expense involved in using lightweight materials is
made good by reduced consumption in the vehicle's use phase, so that
there is an advantage below the line compared with a conventional
concept.
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LCA of different vehicle concepts
Materials
Use Recycling
and production
Greenhouse gases [in t CO2 equivalent]
Additional Net
burden by Break-even reduction
lightweight of green-
design house gases
Depreciation distance
0 km 200.000 km
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Greenhouse gas emissions for various materials [kg CO2 eq. / kg component weight]
Steel
Aluminium
Magnesium
CFRP*
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
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Lightweight potential of components (identical functions)
100 %
Weight-saving potential,
depending on material and
manufacturing processes
75 % (compared with steel):
100 % ~ 40 % ~ 55 % ~ 55 %
~ 40 % for aluminium
50 % ~ 55 % for magnesium
~ 55 % for CFRP
25 %
0 %
Steel Aluminium Magnesium CFRP
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Lightweight construction –
secondary effects
Lower body weight initiates a downward turn in the weight spiral, which
permits chassis and drivetrain components to be downsized, for instance
by reducing the size of the brakes. Weight-saving potential is possible in
every technical area. In the life cycle assessment these savings help to
compensate for the additional effort and expense incurred in the manu-
facture of lightweight materials.
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Reversing the weight spiral
Lightweight construction is the starting point for a reversal of the weight spiral.
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Audi A6 –
the life cycle assessment
Audi has compiled a detailed LCA for the new A6. For comparison, the
engineers chose the top-selling model from previous generation, the A6
3.0 TDI with automatic transmission.
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MMI 3G system Use of high-end steel
Aluminium rear shelf
integration grades in the bodyshell,
Aluminium module including form-hardened
Aluminium boot lid
cross-member grades and tailored
blanks
Engines and transmissions
optimised for weight
saving – adoption of
lightweight materials
for functional integration
Cast aluminium
suspension strut domes
Aluminium
bonnet
Lightweight
forged wheels
Aluminium doors
Neodymium speakers
Aluminium
bumper system Aluminium fender
quattro drivetrain optimised
Aluminium pipes for weight saving
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Audi A6 – materials
The materials used for the product have a significant influence on the
LCA. According to the material classification in VDA directive 231–106,
the proportion of lightweight metals in the new Audi A6 3.0 TDI is about
19 percent of the car's curb weight, three percentage points more than in
the previous model. By contrast, the proportion of steel and other ferrous
metals went down by 5 percent. Audi has extensively replaced steel with
aluminium.
The new Audi A6 contains a higher Although the previous model emitted scarcely 53 metric tons of CO2
proportion of light metals than the equivalents during its complete life cycle, the new Audi A6 has distinctly
previous model, and in most cases less impact on the environment: 46 t of CO2 equivalents. In other words,
more energy is consumed in their Audi has succeeded in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 7 metric
production. Despite this, the tons of CO2 equivalents or 13.2 percent. In all other relevant effect
break-even point is reached before categories too, the new model records better results than its predecessor.
the first 5,000 kilometres have
been driven, and from this point on
the new car's much lower fuel
consumption makes the balance
Reduction of all examined effect categories
more positive with every successive
kilometre. Global warming potential -13 %
Acidification potential -3 %
Eutrophication potential -3 %
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Materials and production Use Recycling
60.000 Fuel
consumption:
50.000
Audi A6 3.0 TDI
quattro tiptronic
[kg of CO2 equivalents]
30.000
Audi A6 3.0 TDI
quattro S tronic
20.000 (new model)
Audi A6 3.0 TDI quattro tiptronic (previous model) 6.0 l / 100 km
Audi A6 3.0 TDI quattro S tronic
10.000
0
0
20.000
40.000
60.000
80.000
100.000
120.000
140.000
160.000
180.000
200.000
Distance covered [km]
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Life cycle assessment –
electromobility
Electrically propelled vehicles such as future e-tron models from Audi
have a highly efficient drivetrain and cause no local emissions. Of course,
responsibility does not end at the electric power socket. In the use phase,
the complete 'well-to-tank' CO2 emissions caused by the generation and
supply of electric power have to be included in the LCA.
As the chart shows, there are immense differences between the various
regions of the world, depending on the local electricity mix. In China most
electricity comes from coal-fired power stations with intensive CO2
emissions, whereas in Norway clean hydroelectric power predominates,
and emissions of CO2 equivalents (in grams per kWh) there are lower than
in China by a factor of 25.
The chart on page 28 shows the effect of the electricity mix on the
operation of a compact-class electric car. In China its emissions of
greenhouse gases total 171 grams per kilometre, in Norway a mere
7 grams. For this reason Audi plans for its future e-tron models to be
operated exclusively on electricity generated by ecological means. With
its e-gas project, Audi will be playing an active part in the development of
regenerative electricity production.
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A similar picture is revealed if the production and recycling phases are Greenhouse gas emissions caused by
added to the use phase. An electric car has a much better overall balance electric power generation / well-to-tank
than a conventional vehicle powered by a petrol engine in Norway, (selected countries)
whereas in China the balance is worse. The chart on page 29 also shows
that the production of a conventional car accounts for about 20 percent of
total emissions, and that this proportion is higher for an electric vehicle
because production of the batteries consumes a large amount of energy.
1 %
Coal
19 %
Nuclear power 23 %
Hydroelectric
39 %
Others 77 %
77 %
32 %
99 %
10 %
*Electricity mix of EU 25-Members (2007)
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Greenhouse gas emissions from electric vehicles in relation to the electricity mix
100
84
50
7
0
China EU Norway
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Greenhouse gas emissions balance in relation to electricity mix
Electrically propelled
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Life cycle assessment –
conclusion
The public today tends to judge cars to a large extent by their fuel
consumption. Here too, Audi looks one step ahead. Its life cycle
assessments analyse effects on the environment for the vehicle's entire
lifetime. The use of sustainable materials and manufacturing processes
can greatly reduce these effects.
The LCA that Audi has compiled for its new A6 shows on the one hand that
the new saloon model is superior to its predecessor in all environmentally
relevant criteria. In addition it is sound evidence that the lightweight
design measures Audi has adopted quickly pay for themselves during the
use phase, despite the higher energy consumption they entail. The weight
advantage soon makes itself felt as a worthwhile reduction in CO2
emissions – an admirable example of environmentally acceptable light-
weight design as Audi understands it.
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Impressum:
AUDI AG
Total Vehicle Development and
Product Communications
85045 Ingolstadt
Tel: +49 841 89-32100
Fax +49 841 89-32817
Status: 05 / 2011