New ultralight automotive door life cycle assessment
PurposeMagna International Inc. (Magna) in cooperation with the United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) and partners FCA US LLC (FCA US) and Grupo Antolin North America, Inc. developed a new state of the art Ultralight door design in 2017 that achieved a 40% overall mass reduction compared to the Baseline door. The purpose of this comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) study is to provide quantitative information about the potential life cycle environmental performance of the new Ultralight door parts compared to the conventional door parts of the 2016 Chrysler 200C (the Baseline) built and driven for 250,000 km in North America (NA).MethodsThis LCA study of Magna's Ultralight door innovation is conducted in accordance with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards 14040 series and follows the specific rules and requirements provided in the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Group guidelines for conducting LCA of auto parts incorporating weight changes due to material composition, manufacturing technology, or part geometry. This guidance establishes auto sector specific technical parameters and LCA calculation rules and requirements for conducting comparative LCA studies for auto parts in NA.Results and discussionLife cycle global warming potential (GWP) and total primary energy demand (TPE) of the Ultralight auto doors (with powertrain, P/T adaptation) are 6.0 g carbon dioxide, CO2 eq/km, and 86 kJ/km lower than that of the Baseline, respectively. Life cycle GWP and TPE of the Ultralight auto doors (no P/T adaptation) are 2.8 g CO2 eq/km and 40 kJ/km lower than that of the Baseline, respectively. The "vehicle strategic systems" (with P/T adaptation) lightweighting approach shows the lowest potential environmental impacts compared to the Baseline in all selected LCA indicators.ConclusionsOverall, the innovative aluminum intensive door design architecture provides a substantial mass reduction for the driver's side door (15.2 kg) which results in a potential mass reduction of 49.5 kg for a 4 door vehicle versus its Baseline 4 door. The ISO 14040 series and CSA Group Guidance conformance LCA results of the Ultralight door designs (no P/T and with P/T adaptation) show lower potential environmental impacts due to lightweighting compared to the Baseline, both built and driven for 250,000 km in NA, in terms of all selected LCA indicators.
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment