The team of researchers from Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology – has released “Fossil-free Ecoinvent”, a parametric model designed to generate customized life cycle databases without fossil fuels. Published in Resources, Conservation & Recycling, the study introduces an open-source framework that systematically replaces coal, oil, and gas inputs with renewable alternatives, synthetic fuels, and electrified systems in supply chain models.
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely used to measure environmental impacts of products and technologies, but most existing databases reflect today’s fossil-heavy supply chains. This limits their usefulness for analyzing future scenarios where societies aim to run increasingly on renewable energy. The new model addresses this gap by offering 48 adjustable parameters that allow practitioners to “defossilize” electricity, heat, transport, and industrial processes. The approach builds on the Ecoinvent database, one of the most widely used LCA resources, and modifies it through a step-by-step process. Fossil inputs are scaled down or substituted, while new datasets for emerging technologies such as electric trucks, hydrogen fuel cells, and synthetic fuels are added. The result is a transparent, customizable database that can simulate partial or full transitions away from fossil energy.
The tool is not only meant for academics but also for industry practitioners who need accessible ways to model decarbonized supply chains, including very ambitious or unconventional pathways. It can be used to investigate minimum carbon footprints of products or analyze environmental trade-offs—such as increased resource demand for renewable technologies—in an increasingly green world. With solar energy accelerating worldwide, “Fossil-free Ecoinvent” offers a timely contribution: a practical way to align environmental assessments with the prospects of a fossil-free future.
By Hauke Schlesier, Harald Desing – Empa