Center Overview
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has emerged as a critical systems-oriented assessment framework for understanding the complexity, interdependencies, and impacts of infrastructure systems. In transportation, the framework is now routinely used to assess the energy and environmental performance of transportation systems, emerging technologies, changing behaviors, and emerging fuels. LCA is more and more used to assess policy goals. This center focuses on the continued development of LCA for transportation services. It is designed to serve as a knowledge hub and repository where researchers and practitioners from around the globe can access LCA information to guide their work.
Affiliates of the center conduct research in a broad range of topics but largely focused on the environmental sustainability assessment of transportation services. These affiliates are using LCA as a foundational platform to create cutting edge methods and models to reduce energy use and environmental impacts. This work often assesses vehicle, infrastructure, and energy production processes in addition to propulsion.
As climate change adaptation questions have become more pressing, affiliates of the center have begun applying life cycle thinking to assess transportation system vulnerability and develop strategies to improve resilience. This research is a major subtheme of the center.
People
Participants in the center include a number of researchers from across the U.S.. A full list of center participants is available on our People page. These researchers have demonstrated a long-term commitment to advancing and applying the life-cycle assessment framework to transportation systems and fuels.
Furthermore, our Publications and Themes pages report transportation-life cycle assessment work from a number of researchers across the globe. If you have relevant work that you would like included on this site then please contact us.
Transportation Systems of Study
The center documents a growing body of research on existing and emerging systems, technologies, energy sources, and travel behavior changes in both passenger and freight systems. This research is documented in the Publications page but also by theme in the respective theme pages. A summary of these systems is shown below:Automobiles
Gasoline Sedans, Diesel Sedans, Sport Utility Vehicles, Gasoline Pickups, Diesel Pickups, Motorcycles, Electric Vehicles, Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles.
Buses
Urban Diesel, Battery Electric, School, and Compressed Natural Gas, as well as Trolley (Electric) Buses.
Heavy/Metro Rail
California's San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Chicago Transit Authority's Metro, New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority's Metro, and New York/New Jersy PATH Metro.
Commuter Rail
Northeast's Acela, California's San Francisco Bay Area Caltrain and Intercity Amtrak, Chicago's Commuter Rail, and New York City's Commuter Rail.
Freight Rail
Diesel rail in both the U.S. and California contexts.
Ocean Going Vessel Freight
Container and Tanker Vessels in both the U.S. and California contexts.
Light Rail
Phoenix's Valley Metro, California's San Francisco Muni Metro, Boston's Green Line, Newark New Jersey's PATH, and Los Angeles Metro's Gold and Expo Lines.
High Speed Rail
Proposed U.S. High-speed Rail lines including California and the Northeast.
Aircraft
Small, Midsize, and Large (international) Aircraft, in several geographic contexts. Future aircraft travel and vehicles (including fuel efficiency gains and lightweighting) are also inventoried, including the Boeing 787 and Airbus A380.
Heavy Duty Trucks
Medium and Heavy Duty Trucks in both U.S. California contexts, Diesel and CNG fuels.
Air Freight
Aircraft in the U.S. context.
Life Cycle Processes
The models developed by affiliated researchers include hundreds of life cycle processes for each transportation system. These processes are shown in the following tables, grouped into vehicle, infrastructure, and energy production categories.Passenger
Life Cycle Grouping |
Automobiles/Buses |
Air |
Rail |
Vehicle |
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Infrastructure |
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| Parking |
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Energy Production |
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Freight
Life Cycle Grouping |
Trucking |
Air |
Marine |
Rail |
Vehicle |
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Infrastructure |
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| Construction |
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Energy Production |
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