Life-Cycle Assessment of Energy Systems in Current and Evolving Grids

Dear Colleagues,

Assessments of the environmental impacts of energy-generation technologies are essential in evaluating their sustainability, and they are especially important in a material-, water- and energy-constrained world where energy affordability and environmental sustainability have to be balanced. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can give a holistic picture of the total environmental impacts and costs to the society so that a comprehensive and balanced comparison can be obtained. LCA provides a framework for quantifying the potential environmental impacts of material and energy inputs and outputs of a process or product from "cradle to grave" or “cradle to cradle”.

This Special Issue will cover environmental impacts, resource availability and Energy Return on Energy Investment (EROI) of conventional and renewable technologies in static and prospective energy mixtures. Special focus will be placed on new fuel pathways as shale gas and synthetic fuel production using conventional and/or renewable energy. Our aim is to put several energy technologies on a comparable basis and, thus, offer a crucial contribution to today’s key debates about energy and climate change. Consistently framed comparative studies that explicitly take into account the complex interlinkages and interdependencies of the various existing technologies are especially welcome, as are those aimed at answering policy-relevant questions such as which energy systems are more likely to enable a transition to a more sustainable future.

Prof. Dr. Vasilis Fthenakis
Dr. Marco Raugei
Guest Editors

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