KREISRAD: On-site LCA of an E-Cargo Bike with elorec and muli

In the research project KREISRAD, the Sustainable Technologies Laboratory is conducting a comprehensive sustainability assessment of different end-of-life (EoL) strategies for an e-cargo bike. As a case study, a bike from the project partner muli-cycles serves as the example. The aim is to systematically compare the environmental impacts of various EoL strategies—such as reuse of individual components or recycling—and to identify potential optimization measures.

A central part of the study is the execution of a detailed life cycle assessment (LCA). To achieve the most accurate and reliable results, high-quality primary data are required. Since detailed material information is often unavailable for critical components like e-motors and batteries  even for companies that use these components – the used e-cargo bike was fully disassembled.

Last week, the project team visited the project partner elorec GmbH. On-site, the e-motor and battery were dismantled and analyzed down to the material level. Each component was carefully disassembled, sorted, and weighed. In addition, modern analytical methods – including X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis – were used to precisely determine the material composition.

We extend our sincere thanks to elorec for their warm hospitality and dedicated support in carrying out the analysis. In particular, we would like to acknowledge the contributions of Mehdi and Dave, who actively supported in the process and shared their expertise.

This close collaboration and the collection of detailed primary data enable a highly robust LCA. It provides the foundation for quantitatively assessing, later in the project, which environmental impacts can be avoided through different EoL strategies – thus making an important contribution to the development of sustainable circular solutions for e-cargo bikes.