Many objects and products we use daily are often manufactured in other geographical areas, and yet LCA models do not always well reflect the regional characteristics of the production locations. Photovoltaic systems installed in Germany, for instance, are mainly produced in China.
This case study focuses on performing a cradle-to-grave LCA using different databases depending on the life cycle stage of the PV system under study; namely, to model the production phase of the components happening in China, the Chinese database HiQLCD was used, while the later phases taking place in Germany were modeled with ecoinvent.
It can be an example for LCA practitioners interested in modeling products with life cycle stages taking place in different parts of the world, improving the regional specificity of their studies. Moreover, it demonstrates how users can combine databases like HiQLCD and ecoinvent.
We also talked about this case study during a webinar with the HiQLCD team that you can find in our YouTube channel.
Explore the report and the model here .