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Life cycle assessment of emerging technologies: A review
Author(s) -
Moni Sheikh Moniruzzaman,
Mahmud Roksana,
High Karen,
CarbajalesDale Michael
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of industrial ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.377
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1530-9290
pISSN - 1088-1980
DOI - 10.1111/jiec.12965
Subject(s) - comparability , emerging technologies , life cycle assessment , risk analysis (engineering) , industrial ecology , scale (ratio) , computer science , management science , data science , process management , business , engineering , sustainability , production (economics) , ecology , biology , economics , macroeconomics , physics , mathematics , combinatorics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence
In recent literature, prospective application of life cycle assessment (LCA) at low technology readiness levels (TRL) has gained immense interest for its potential to enable development of emerging technologies with improved environmental performances. However, limited data, uncertain functionality, scale up issues and uncertainties make it very challenging for the standard LCA guidelines to evaluate emerging technologies and requires methodological advances in the current LCA framework. In this paper, we review published literature to identify major methodological challenges and key research efforts to resolve these issues with a focus on recent developments in five major areas: cross‐study comparability, data availability and quality, scale‐up issues, uncertainty and uncertainty communication, and assessment time. We also provide a number of recommendations for future research to support the evaluation of emerging technologies at low technology readiness levels: (a) the development of a consistent framework and reporting methods for LCA of emerging technologies; (b) the integration of other tools with LCA, such as multicriteria decision analysis, risk analysis, technoeconomic analysis; and (c) the development of a data repository for emerging materials, processes, and technologies.