Expressnews
With the aim of optimizing theecological footprint of its products and, in the long term,designing them to be CO2-neutral throughout theirentire life cycle, Vitesco Technologies, a leadingsupplier of advanced drive technologies andelectrification solutions, is intensively looking into theso-called Life Cycle Engineering (LCE).
Life cycle engineering (LCE) means that whendesigning and developing a product, the ecologicalfootprint of the entire value chain is taken into account– from the extraction of raw materials for suppliedparts, through their production and transport, to the useof the finished product and its recycling at the end ofits life – in order to optimize these aspects usingscientific methods.
“As a provider of climate-friendly mobility solutions weare committed to meeting high standards in terms ofsustainability,” explains Anja Rivera de la Cruz, head of Sustainability at Vitesco Technologies: “Our businessmodel is based on the understanding that we aresignificantly reducing vehicle CO2 emissions with ourproducts. Our goal is to make our productionoperations up to 100 percent neutral by 2030 and allour business processes along the value chaincompletely CO2 neutral by 2040 at the latest. To do this,we want to create a life cycle assessment (LCA) for all new product groups – as our customers, OEMs from allover the world, are increasingly asking for.” This will enable the company to analyze and make transparent how its products affect the climate over their entire lifecycle.
Vitesco Technologies also contributes its expertise tothe “Umwelt Produkt” working group of the Verbandder Deutschen Automobilindustrie (association of theGerman automotive industry), and to several initiativesof the CLEPA regarding life cycle assessments. Thecompany’s expertise is in high demand fromautomotive manufacturers
companies. “Only when you know the CO2 footprint ofyour own actions or a product, you can also implementsuitable measures or select materials to reduce itsenvironmental impact. We can take advantage fromyears of experience, extensive databases and highlyspecialized tools,” explains Khosrau Heidary, head ofLife Cycle Engineering at Vitesco Technologies.
Prof. Dr. Alexander Martin from the University of Erlangen- Nuremberg and the Fraunhofer IIS, a provenexpert in life cycle engineering, considers the companya pioneer when it comes to automating life cycleassessments: “Vitesco Technologies has developedvery innovative, scientifically sound concepts inmany areas that are unparalleled in the industry.Almost all major companies are working on this topicand are currently in the analysis phase. VitescoTechnologies has already completed that phase andis taking a pioneering role in the supplier industry byimplementing life cycle engineering in its corporateprocesses.”
As long as a product consists of several components,countless possibilities arise for its development andassembly. These include different design methods,materials, suppliers, supply routes and manufacturingmethods, as Heidary explains: “We use mathematicalmethods to determine which combination can optimizethe environmental footprint of a product. On this basis,we in the Life Cycle Engineering team, develop anenvironmentally optimized product – with consistentlyhigh quality and the lowest possible costs.”
The pilot project for this initiative at VitescoTechnologies was the life cycle assessment of a high-voltage inverter – a particularly complex product withmany components that are also used in other areas ofelectric vehicles. For this alone, around 400 individualcomponents and all steps in the value chain werecollected and analyzed. The method, with which lifecycle assessments can be mathematically optimizedin an automated manner, was developed incooperation with the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Following the successful pilot phase, thismethod is now being introduced in development,production, and business processes as part of thelife cycle engineering program.
