Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Of Conventionally Manufactured And Additive Remanufactured Electric Bicycle Motors

In a circular economy, remanufacturing is crucial in reducing the use of primary raw materials and energy compared to new production. However, poor availability of non-standardized wear components can prevent remanufacturing. Additive manufacturing is a promising alternative to conventional manufacturing or spare part purchase for those wear components required for remanufacturing. However, there is uncertainty regarding the environmental impact of using additive manufacturing for remanufacturing. This paper compares conventional and additive spare parts manufacturing to evaluate the potential environmental savings of remanufacturing electric bicycle motors. Therefore, a reference motor was selected, and its manufacturing processes were modeled in SimaPro using the ecoinvent 3.8 Life Cycle Assessment database and the latest knowledge on processing and manufacturing processes. The results show that conventional production of electric bicycle motors has a climate warming potential of around 28 kg CO2-eq. Additive remanufacturing of electric bicycle motors at the end of their life cycle offers significant environmental savings potential. The extent of savings depends on the condition of the used electric bicycle motor and, accordingly, the number of components that need to be replaced. According to the IPCC method for the electric bicycle motor investigated, the study estimates that approximately 90.4 % savings potential can be achieved in terms of Global Warming Potential.