The idea in one minute
Think of an LCA as a nutrition label for your process. Everything that goes in (materials, energy, water) and everything that comes out (emissions, waste) gets counted for each step: mixing, coating, assembly, recycling, whatever your process involves. Those inputs and outputs are then translated into a handful of environmental impact scores using standardized conversion factors.
The result: instead of "cobalt-free sounds cleaner," you can say "our cathode route emits 18% less CO₂ per kWh but uses more freshwater, and here is the breakdown by process step."
What an LCA actually measures
LiTeCAB scores processes on the nine impact categories defined by the US EPA's TRACI 2.1 method:
| Impact category | What it tells you | Typical unit |
|---|---|---|
| Climate change | Contribution to global warming, the "carbon footprint" | kg CO₂-eq |
| Acidification | Emissions that cause acid rain and acidify soil and water | kg SO₂-eq |
| Eutrophication | Nutrient pollution that causes algae blooms and dead zones in water | kg N-eq |
| Smog formation | Emissions that create ground-level ozone (smog) | kg O₃-eq |
| Particulate matter | Fine-particle air pollution linked to respiratory health | kg PM2.5-eq |
| Ozone depletion | Damage to the protective stratospheric ozone layer | kg CFC-11-eq |
| Human toxicity (cancer) | Potential carcinogenic effects on people | CTUh |
| Human toxicity (non-cancer) | Other toxic effects on people | CTUh |
| Freshwater ecotoxicity | Toxic effects on aquatic life | CTUe |
The "-eq" in the units means "equivalents": different substances are converted to a common reference so they can be added up. For example, one kilogram of methane counts as roughly 28–36 kg CO₂-eq, because it traps that much more heat.
When do you need an LCA?
- Funding proposals. ARPA-E, DOE, and EU programs increasingly ask applicants to quantify expected environmental benefits. A proposal with real per-kWh numbers reads very differently from one with adjectives.
- Sustainability claims and PR. "Our process cuts emissions by a third" only survives scrutiny if there's an analysis behind it. An LCA is that analysis, and the guard against accidental greenwashing.
- Beating the status quo. New processes get compared to the incumbent. An LCA lets you show, category by category, where yours wins and where it doesn't yet.
- Customer and regulatory requirements. Battery supply chains face growing disclosure rules (like the EU battery passport), and OEM customers pass those requirements upstream.
- R&D screening. The cheapest time to fix an environmental hotspot is before scale-up. Early screening shows which process step drives impact so you work on the right problem.
How LiTeCAB does it
LiTeCAB runs a screening LCA in your browser. You start from a ready-made battery template (NMC111, NMC622, NMC811, LFP, or recycling) or describe your own process, and the app calculates all nine TRACI 2.1 categories with a per-step breakdown, reported per kilogram of product or per kWh of cell capacity. An AI copilot builds and edits the model with you and explains what the results mean.
The free app is a screening preview. Its templates are built from real, public data, but they describe generic battery processes. And because licensed impact databases such as ecoinvent can't be redistributed in a free web tool, its results are indicative rather than decision-grade. Organizations that need exact numbers get a tailored version that runs their own process data through licensed datasets.
Common questions
What's the difference between an LCA and a carbon footprint?
A carbon footprint is one slice of an LCA: it counts only greenhouse gas emissions. A full LCA also covers water pollution, air quality, toxicity, ozone depletion, and more, so a process that looks good on carbon alone can't hide problems elsewhere.
What is TRACI?
TRACI is the US EPA's method for turning a list of emissions into environmental impact scores. It defines the categories (climate change, acidification, smog, and so on) and the conversion factors used to score them. LiTeCAB uses TRACI version 2.1.
What data do I need to run an LCA?
At minimum: the materials and energy that go into each step of your process, in quantities per unit of product. This is called a life cycle inventory. In LiTeCAB, ready-made battery templates give you a complete starting inventory that you adjust to match your process.
How long does an LCA take?
A traditional consultant-led LCA typically takes weeks to months. A screening LCA in LiTeCAB, using templates and built-in data, takes minutes, which makes it practical to compare options during R&D rather than after decisions are made.
Is a screening LCA enough for a grant proposal or a published claim?
Screening results are well suited to proposals, internal decisions, and early comparisons. Public marketing claims or regulatory submissions usually call for a full ISO 14040/14044 study with reviewed data. A tailored LiTeCAB deployment on full datasets can be the foundation for that.
Why doesn't the free version use ecoinvent?
ecoinvent is the most widely used life cycle inventory database, and it's licensed per organization, so its data can't be redistributed through a free public tool. That's why the free app's results are indicative. Tailored LiTeCAB deployments connect through your organization's own ecoinvent (or other database) license, so results use the real factors.
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