Life cycle assessment of milk produced in two smallholder dairy systems in the highlands and the coast of Peru

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was applied to two smallholder milk production systems in Peru in order to evaluate the environmental burden of milk produced in each. An Andean highland milk production system where livestock feeding is restricted to permanent pastures supplemented with on farm grown ryegrass-clover was opposed to a coastal system with dairy cows fed a diet consisting of fodder maize and purchased concentrate. Milk production levels (kg/cow day) differed considerably with 2.57 for the highland and 19.54 for the coastal system. A Life Cycle Inventory was calculated for the functional unit of 1 kg energy corrected milk (ECM) and the environmental impacts global warming, acidification and eutrophication were estimated for 1 kg ECM, 1 ha and 1 animal, considering the multi-functionality of the system. The highland system was characterized by a high land use (23.1 m²a/kg ECM vs. 1.71 m²a/kg ECM at the coast). Irrigation water and energy were on the other hand used to a much higher amount at the coast (7291 l/kg ECM and 8791 MJ/kg ECM, respectively) than in the highlands (848 l/kg ECM and 0.20 MJ/kg ECM). Global warming potential, acidification and eutrophication were higher for 1 kg ECM produced in the highlands than at the coast by 10.6 kg CO₂ equivalents, 6.58 g sulfur dioxide equivalents and 10.63 g phosphate equivalents, respectively. Nevertheless, 5220 kg CO₂ equivalents more were emitted per animal at the coast than in the highlands. Also acidification and eutrophication were estimated to be on average 6 and 4 times higher at the coast compared to the highlands when expressed for the functional units of 1 ha and 1 animal.

Results

Whereas livestock is mainly responsible for impacts on the environment in the highlands, at the coast both livestock related emissions and forage cultivation play an important role. Furthermore CO₂ releases from soybean cultivations heavily contribute to total emissions. Sensitivity analysis indicates that for dairy systems relying on crop by-products as feed the choice of the allocation method is a crucial point in a LCA study. Based on the results of this study, strategies in order to reduce the environmental burden of milk production should focus on an increase of production levels and a reduction of methane emissions from enteric fermentation in the highlands and a modification of the concentrate components replacing soya as the protein source at the coast.     

Life Cycle Assessment of fossil energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in Chinese pear production

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed to analyze environmental consequences of different pear production chains in terms of fossil energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in China. The assessment identified hotspots that contributed significantly to the environmental impacts of pear production from the cradle to the point of sale. The results showed that GHG emissions and fossil energy use varied in the different production chains because the environmental performance does not associate with the farming systems (i.e. organic vs. conventional), but is co-determined by farm topography and thus machinery use, by market demands to seasonality of products and thus the need for storage, and by local farming practices including manure management. The LCA could be used as a tool to guide selections of agricultural inputs with the aim of reducing environmental impacts. The results of the LCA analysis indicate that a list of choices are available to reduce energy use and GHG emission in the pear production chain, namely substitution of the traditional storage systems by an efficiently controlled atmosphere storage system, using manure for biogas production, conversion from the conventional farming to organic farming, and reduction of mechanical cultivation.     

LCA of comprehensive pig manure management incorporating integrated technology systems

Increased and intensified pig production has raised the needs for proper management systems of pig manure in order to reduce negative environmental impacts. The objectives of this study were to identify the most significant environmental impacts from pig manure management considering a wide range of impact categories and to determine which integrated technology system at which handling stage can achieve the highest impact reduction. Twelve scenarios applying various treatment, storage and land application systems were developed and compared. Life cycle assessment (LCA) with the aim of capturing the actual consequences of the considered scenarios was selected as the tool for impact quantification. The most important impact categories in this investigation are global warming (GWP), aquatic eutrophication (AEP), respiratory inorganics (RIP), and terrestrial eutrophication (TEP). The two latter impacts, caused by ammonia emissions, have not been widely considered in most of previous LCA studies on pig manure management. The main keys for the effective impact reduction are the integration of treatment technology systems aiming at energy recovery with high nutrient recovery and control of greenhouse gas, ammonia, and nitrate emissions at every handling stage. For GWP and AEP, the anaerobic digestion-based scenario with natural crust storage achieves the highest impact reduction because of high efficiencies in energy and nutrient recovery with restricted emissions of GHG and nitrate. For RIP and TEP, the incineration and thermal gasification based scenarios and the scenario without a treatment system applying the deep injection method yield the highest impact minimisation due to the lowest ammonia emissions. This study further indicates the need to consider all significant impacts to decide the best management options taking into consideration local conditions.     

中国电动自行车动力铅酸蓄电池生命周期评价

以近年来中国用量增长最快的电动自行车动力铅酸蓄电池为对象,建立了生命周期环境影响评价模型,分析了从原材料生产、电池生产、电池运输、电池使用和废旧铅酸蓄电池及含铅废物回收处理全生命周期的环境影响.研究采用了大量企业调研数据和中国本土LCA数据库,以期反映整个中国铅酸蓄电池产业链的技术工艺和环境管理水平现状.结果表明,原材料生产和电池使用是资源(含能源)消耗的主要阶段,贡献了电池全生命周期绝大部分的环境影响.原材料生产贡献最多的全生命周期环境影响包括非生物资源耗竭(699%)、富营养化(89%)、光化学烟雾(98%)、臭氧层破坏(117%)、人体毒性(159%)和生态毒性(484%).电池使用过程的电耗间接消耗了83%的一次能源,相应地贡献了最多的气候变暖潜值(86%)和酸化潜值(70%).废旧铅酸蓄电池和含铅废物回收再生铅可抵消很大一部分原材料生产造成的环境影响.延长电池寿命,减少电池生产金属用量及提高废旧电池回收处理过程的工艺技术和污染控制水平也是减少铅酸蓄电池生命周期环境影响的关键.     

LCA of spent fluorescent lamps in Thailand at various rates of recycling

This paper presents environmental impact of a fluorescent lamp (a long straight tube 36 watts, 200 g and 13,600 h for mean time before failure) when considering different disposal methods (recycle and non-recycle) of its spent fluorescent lamp (SFL). The study was applied for the case in Thailand using life cycle assessment (LCA) as a tool. All materials, energy use, and pollutant emissions to the environment from each related process were identified and analyzed. Impact assessment was conducted for 10 environmental impact potentials: carcinogens, respiratory organics, respiratory inorganics, climate change, radiation, ozone layer, ecotoxicity, acidification/eutrophication, land use and minerals. The analysis followed Eco-Indicator 99 method, individualist version 2.1. The main focus of the study was to compare the impact of SFL recycling with non-recycling before landfilling. The impact intermittent activities, production of raw material and energy used in all the concerned processes were taken into account. However, transportation activities were excluded. The results showed that for all recycling rates, cement production is the main contributor to the environmental impacts, while sodium sulfide production is second and electrical production, the third. Mercury vapor emission showed a small contribution in carcinogens and ecotoxicity. The impacts are reduced when recycling rate is increased. The reduction of cement consumption in disposal processes or the process improvement of cement production may also help to reduce environmental impacts.     

电动与内燃机汽车的动力系统生命周期环境影响对比分析

以国内某两款同一车型的电动与内燃机汽车的动力系统为研究对象,通过生命周期分析软件GaBi建立生命周期评价(LCA)模型,在清单数据分析的基础上,采用CML2001模型对两种动力系统分别进行了定量的生命周期环境影响评价.评价结果表明,电动汽车动力系统的全生命周期综合环境影响比内燃机汽车动力系统高60.15％,并分别通过回收阶段分析、电能结构分析和敏感性分析对这一结果进行了解释:回收阶段中酸化、富营养化和光化学臭氧合成3种环境影响类型的直接排放大于回收得到的环境效益;电动汽车动力系统的环境影响随着火力发电比例的下降而减小,增大水能、风力和核能发电在电力系统中所占比例能有效降低电动汽车对环境的影响;动力系统重量对电动汽车动力系统的环境排放影响最为敏感,电池充电效率次之,制造阶段能耗的敏感度最小.将动力系统使用阶段的环境影响分配到整车,则电动汽车的生命周期环境影响比内燃机汽车低0.14％,且主要环境影响类型是全球变暖、酸化和富营养化.     

Pasture diversification to combat climate change impacts on grazing dairy production

Among livestock systems, grazing is likely to be most impacted by climate change because of its dependency to feed quality and availability. In order to reduce the impact of climate change on grazing livestock systems, adaptation measures should be implemented. The goal of this study is to identify the best pasture composition for a representative grazing dairy farm in Michigan in order to reduce the impacts of climate change on production. In order to achieve the goal of this study, three objectives were sought: (1) identify the best pasture composition, (2) assess economic and resource use impacts of pasture compositions under future climate scenarios, and (3) evaluate the resiliency of pasture compositions. A representative farm was developed based on a livestock practices survey and incorporated into the Integrated Farm System Model (IFSM). For the pasture compositions, four cool-season grass species and two legumes were evaluated under both current and future climate scenarios. The effectiveness of adaptation measures based on economic and resource use criteria was evaluated. Overall, the pasture composition with 50% perennial ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) and 50% red clover (Trifolium pratense) was identified as the best. In addition, the increase in precipitation and temperature of the most intensive climate scenario could significantly improve farm net return per cow (Bos taurus) and whole farm profit while no significant impact was observed on resource use criteria. Finally, the overall sensitivity assessment showed that the most resilient pasture composition under future climate scenarios was ryegrass with red clover and the least resilient was orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata) with white clover (Trifolium repens).     

设施番茄生产系统的环境影响生命周期评价

应用生命周期评价方法,以陕西省西安市郊区为例,对设施番茄生产系统进行了环境影响评价.结果表明,日光温室和塑料大棚生产1000kg番茄消耗的能源和水资源分别是1740.58 MJ、50.767 m3和1502.346 MJ、53.734 m3;全球变暖潜值(以CO2当量计)、环境酸化潜值(以SO2当量计)、富营养化潜值(以PO3-4当量计)、光化学烟雾潜值(以C2H2当量计)、土壤毒性(以1,4-DCB当量计)、水体毒性(以1,4-DCB当量计)和人类毒性潜值(以1,4-DCB计)分别为271.943 kg、2.151 kg、0.247 kg、0.157 kg、24.217 kg、19.545 kg、0.124 kg和239.163 kg、1.88 kg、0.305 kg、0.109 kg、31.686 kg、19.7 kg、0.304 kg.设施构筑物自身建设和维护带来的主要潜在环境影响是能源耗竭、全球变暖和环境酸化;番茄种植环节引起的主要潜在环境影响是水资源耗竭、富营养化、全球变暖、土壤毒性和水体毒性;农资生产环节的主要潜在环境影响是能源耗竭.设施番茄生产系统中对环境影响大的建材和农资是钢材、聚乙烯材料、氮肥、农药和含过量重金属的有机肥.设施番茄生产系统对环境的影响不容忽视,应展开以降低其环境影响为目标的设施结构与建材、温室内气候条件调控、合理施肥和施药的研究,并对采取的技术方法进行生命周期评价,以确保设施蔬菜的可持续发展.研究结果可为促进设施蔬菜生产系统的可持续发展提供科学依据.     

Assessing alternative aquaculture technologies: life cycle assessment of salmonid culture systems in Canada

This study employed life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify and compare the potential environmental impacts of culturing salmonids in a conventional marine net-pen system with those of three reportedly environmentally-friendly alternatives; a marine floating bag system; a land-based saltwater flow-through system; and a land-based freshwater recirculating system. Results of the study indicate that while the use of these closed-containment systems may reduce the local ecological impacts typically associated with net-pen salmon farming, the increase in material and energy demands associated with their use may result in significantly increased contributions to several environmental impacts of global concern, including global warming, non-renewable resource depletion, and acidification. It is recommended that these unanticipated impacts be carefully considered in further assessments of the sustainability of closed-containment systems and in ongoing efforts to develop and employ these technologies on a larger scale.     

食用油聚酯包装的生命周期评价

采用生命周期评价法研究了食用油聚酯(PET)包装的生命周期环境影响,并对不同处置方式的环境影响进行比较评价. 通过现场和资料调研的方式获得所有生命周期阶段的能量物质的输入、输出和环境外排数据. 结果表明:PET包装原料获取阶段的环境影响潜值在全生命周期环境影响潜值中所占比例极高,占处置前环境影响潜值的81.8%. PET包装的全生命周期环境影响类别主要集中在化石燃料、无机物对人体损害和气候变化3个方面;在致癌、生态毒性和酸化/富营养化等方面的影响较小. 3种主要处置方式的环境影响潜值为焚烧＞填埋＞再生,其中焚烧和填埋分别增加PET包装处置阶段前环境影响潜值的5.1%和3.6%,而再生可降低63.9%.      

我国不同区域玉米施肥的生命周期评价

以吉林、陕西、河南、湖南、广西等玉米主产省份为例,以生产1t玉米为评价的功能单元,应用生命周期评价(LCA)方法,比较了不同生态区玉米生产过程中施肥的资源环境影响潜力.结果表明,五省环境影响综合指数大小依次为广西0.315、湖南0.309、河南0.273、陕西0.238、吉林0.183.几种资源环境影响中,潜力大小依次是富营养化、环境酸化、温室效应、土地利用和能源消耗,其中,施用氮肥引起的氨挥发是导致富营养化和酸化的主要原因.农户间玉米施肥的资源环境影响潜力差异很大,环境影响综合指数变异范围在41.2%～81.6%之间,且以湖南省最高,吉林省最低.如果将玉米追肥由撒施都改为穴施,五省的环境影响综合指数将降低8.5%～34.1%.总体而言,在目前生产条件下,吉林省具有资源环境影响较低的优势;富营养化是最主要的环境影响类型,而改进施肥方式、减少氨挥发是降低玉米施肥资源环境影响的关键技术途径.     

Assessment of the environmental profile of PLA,PET and PS clamshell containers using LCA methodology

Life cycle assessments of bio-based polymer resin and products historically have shown favorable results in terms of environmental impacts and energy use compared to petroleum-based products. However, calculation of these impacts always depends on the system and boundary conditions considered during the study. This paper reports a cradle-to-cradle Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) in comparison with poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(styrene) (PS) thermoformed clamshell containers, used for packaging of strawberries with emphasis on different end-of-life scenarios. It considers all the inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and seed corn required for the growing and harvesting of corn used for manufacturing PLA. For PET and PS, the extraction of crude oil and the entire cracking processes from crude oil through styrene and ethylene glycol and terephathalic acid are considered. Global warming, aquatic acidification, aquatic eutrophication, aquatic ecotoxicity, ozone depletion, non-renewable energy and respiratory organics, land occupation and respiratory inorganics were the selected midpoint impact categories. The geographical scope of the study reflects data from Europe, North America and the Middle East. PET showed the highest overall values for all the impact categories, mainly due to the higher weight of the containers. The main impacts to the environment were the resin production and the transportation stage of the resins and containers. This implies that the transportation stage of the package is an important contributor to the environmental impact of the packaging systems, and that it cannot be diminished.     

Environmental consequences of different beef production systems in the EU

The aim of this paper is to examine the environmental consequences of beef meat production in the EU, using a life cycle approach. Four beef production systems were studied – three from intensively reared dairy calves and one from suckler herds. According to the results of the analysis, the contributions from the production of 1 kg beef meat (slaughter weight) to global warming, acidification, eutrophication, land use and non-renewable energy use were lower for beef from dairy calves than from suckler herds (16.0–19.9 versus 27.3 kg CO₂e, 101–173 versus 210 g SO₂e, 622–1140 versus 1651 g NO₃e, 16.5–22.7 versus 42.9 m²year, and 41.3–48.2 versus 59.2 MJ, respectively). The breakdown analysis helped identify the key areas in the “cradle to farm gate” beef production system where sustainable management strategies are needed to improve environmental performance. The study also included a sensitivity analysis to preliminarily estimate GHG emissions from beef production systems if land opportunity cost and land use change related to grazing and feed crop production for beef were taken into account. If so, the contribution from the production of 1 kg beef to global warming would increase by a factor of 3.1–3.9, based on a depreciation period of 20 years. This highlights the importance of taking into account the impacts of land use in assessing the environmental impacts of livestock production.     

基于生命周期的循环农业系统评价

针对"循环经济系统是低碳经济的实现途径之一"的观点,在国内外研究的基础上,改进LCA模型,以湖南某典型的循环鸭业产业进行实证研究.整个鸭产业生命周期中耗用的不可再生资源、土地、水资源分别为48.629MJ、2.36m2和1321.41kg,潜在的温室气体、环境酸化、富营养化、人体毒性、水体毒性、土壤毒性分别为11543.26g(CO2eq)、52.36g(SO2eq)、25.83g(PO4eq)、1.26、60.74、24.65g(1,4-DCBeq),加权评估后,富营养化、水体毒性、土壤毒性潜在威胁均高于温室气体.结果表明,建立在传统生产模式上的循环农业适宜"适度循环";循环农业不能盲目追求低碳发展,在降低碳排放的同时还须考虑土壤和生物固碳,才能全面评价碳排放问题;循环经济和循环农业在评估碳排放的同时,还需对环境酸化、富营养化、生态毒性等其他生态指标进行评估,建立系统评价体系;LCA能够较好地对循环农业进行整体评价,值得进一步研究.     

A review of assessments conducted on bio-ethanol as a transportation fuel from a net energy,greenhouse gas,and environmental life cycle perspective

Interest in producing ethanol from biomass in an attempt to make transportation ecologically sustainable continues to grow. In recent years, a large number of assessments have been conducted to assess the environmental merit of biofuels. Two detailed reviews present contrasting results: one is generally unfavourable, whilst the other is more favourable towards fuel bio-ethanol. However, most work that has been done so far, to assess the conversion of specific feedstocks to biofuels, specifically bio-ethanol, has not gone beyond energy and carbon assessments. This study draws on 47 published assessments that compare bio-ethanol systems to conventional fuel on a life cycle basis, or using life cycle assessment (LCA). A majority of these assessments focused on net energy and greenhouse gases, and despite differing assumptions and system boundaries, the following general lessons emerge: (i) make ethanol from sugar crops, in tropical countries, but approach expansion of agricultural land usage with extreme caution; (ii) consider hydrolysing and fermenting lignocellulosic residues to ethanol; and (iii) the LCA results on grasses as feedstock are insufficient to draw conclusions. It appears that technology choices in process residue handling and in fuel combustion are key, whilst site-specific environmental management tools should best handle biodiversity issues. Seven of the reviewed studies evaluated a wider range of environmental impacts, including resource depletion, global warming, ozone depletion, acidification, eutrophication, human and ecological health, smog formation, etc., but came up with divergent conclusions, possibly due to different approaches in scoping. These LCAs typically report that bio-ethanol results in reductions in resource use and global warming; however, impacts on acidification, human toxicity and ecological toxicity, occurring mainly during the growing and processing of biomass, were more often unfavourable than favourable. It is in this area that further work is needed.     

Life cycle assessment of sunflower and rapeseed as energy crops under Chilean conditions

An option for the agriculture and energy sectors in Chile is the cultivation of energy crops, but environmental studies are first needed in the framework of a sustainable national energy policy.In this study, we used a cradle-to-farm gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to compare environmental impacts and energy and water demand of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in Chile, as potential oleaginous crops for first-generation biodiesel production. National agricultural data are used for the LCA inventory and process data of international databases are adapted to local conditions. The effect of field N₂O emissions and land use change is evaluated. The results indicate that, compared to sunflower, rapeseed production has a better environmental performance in 9 out of the 11 impact categories evaluated, and lower water consumption. The energy demand of rapeseed is 4.9 GJ/t seed, 30% less than that of sunflower. Mineral fertilizers cause the highest environmental impact in both crops. The analysis of the life cycle of fertilizers indicates that extraction of raw materials and its production are key stages. Attempts to reduce the environmental impact and energy requirement of both crops should be mainly associated with the evaluation of other types of fertilization. In addition, particularly for sunflower, low impact herbicides should be evaluated, seed yield improved and cultivation practices optimized. If the crops are produced on degraded grasslands, the greenhouse gas emissions may be reduced.     

Life cycle assessment of lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles – Critical issues

The main aim of the study was to explore how LCA can be used to optimize the design of lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Two lithium-ion batteries, both based on lithium iron phosphate, but using different solvents during cell manufacturing, were studied by means of life cycle assessment, LCA. The general conclusions are limited to results showing robustness against variation in critical data. The study showed that it is environmentally preferable to use water as a solvent instead of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, NMP, in the slurry for casting the cathode and anode of lithium-ion batteries. Recent years’ improvements in battery technology, especially related to cycle life, have decreased production phase environmental impacts almost to the level of use phase impacts. In the use phase, environmental impacts related to internal battery efficiency are two to six times larger than the impact from losses due to battery weight in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, assuming 90% internal battery efficiency. Thus, internal battery efficiency is a very important parameter; at least as important as battery weight. Areas, in which data is missing or inadequate and the environmental impact is or may be significant, include: production of binders, production of lithium salts, cell manufacturing and assembly, the relationship between weight of vehicle and vehicle energy consumption, information about internal battery efficiency and recycling of lithium-ion batteries based on lithium iron phosphate.     

铁路运输生命周期评价初探

基于生命周期评价方法,建立了我国铁路运输的生命周期模型,包含电力机车和内燃机车的运行、基础设施建设、上游能源和原料生产等主要过程;采用我国2010年铁路货运统计数据、中国生命周期核心数据库(CLCD)等数据源,通过eBalance软件对铁路运输生命周期的环境影响进行了计算和分析. 归一化分析表明,铁路运输生命周期的主要环境影响类型为富营养化、酸化和可吸入无机物,三者分别占全国相应环境影响类型总量的0.92%、0.70%和0.62%. 对大理—保山段铁路实际建设数据的研究表明,铁路基础设施建设及原材料生产的各项环境影响类型对铁路运输生命周期环境影响的贡献在9.45%(富营养化)～73.55%(非能源资源消耗)之间,影响十分显著. 生命周期节能减排综合评价表明,铁路运输节能减排综合指标的主要贡献来自于初级能耗、NO_x和CO₂,三者分别占ECER(节能减排综合指标值)的30.90%、27.50%和21.60%. 电力机车运输的节能减排效果优于内燃机车运输,其节能减排综合影响比内燃机车低41.91%.      

纸塑铝复合包装处置方式的生命周期评价

采用生命周期评价(LCA)法研究了纸塑铝复合包装的全生命周期环境影响,并在处置阶段对不同处置方式的环境影响进行评价. 通过现场和资料调研的方式,获得所有生命周期阶段能量物质的输入/输出和环境外排数据. 结果表明:纸塑铝复合包装生命周期阶段中环境影响比重最大的是原料获取阶段,占75%以上. 纸塑铝复合包装的全生命周期环境影响主要集中在化石燃料、土地占用和无机物对人体损害3个方面,在矿产资源、气候变化、酸化富营养化和生态毒性方面影响稍小. 3种处置方式对环境影响由大到小依次为填埋＞焚烧＞再生,其中填埋和焚烧处置分别比纸塑铝复合包装处置阶段前的环境影响增加11%和7%,再生可降低23%,而进一步降低环境影响的方式为发展铝塑分离技术.      

Ex-ante environmental assessments of novel technologies - Improved caprolactam catalysis and hydrogen storage

Utrecht University has conducted a pilot sustainability assessment for the executive board of the chemistry program ACTS (Advanced Chemical Technologies for Sustainability) of the Netherlands’ Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). These assessments represent prospective, i.e. ’ex-ante’ studies on the production of caprolactam by an improved catalyst and on different hydrogen storage options (i.e. compressed and liquefied hydrogen, storage in metal hydrides and storage in a metal organic framework). The pilot sustainability assessments followed the principles of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), thereby focusing on non-renewable energy use (NREU) and climate change (GWP100). It was found that caprolactam with the novel catalyst has lower impacts than petrochemical caprolactam production from benzene but higher impacts than bio-based caprolactam produced via fermentation. Regarding hydrogen storage, it was found that compressed and liquid hydrogen have the highest impacts. The impacts of the metal hydrides and the metal organic frameworks show by far the lowest environmental impacts. The main reason is that these materials can be reused up to 1500 times (refilling of tank), while for compressing and liquefaction of hydrogen energy is needed each time a tank needs to be refilled. The study demonstrates the successful application of ex-ante technology assessment.