Interpreting LCA results from a life cycle and circular economy perspective: Application of the life cycle gap-analysis

The interpretation of LCA results from a LCG-A perspective allows to analyze the consequences of product innovations & new technologies with regard to both, the vision of circular economies and the actual consequences for current life cycle systems. In other words: the LCG-A visualizes the distance between an ideal closed system and the status quo in a simplified way, without ignoring trade-offs across the entire life cycle. LCG-A thereby supports various stakeholders from research and development, industry and politics by analyzing the consequences of their ideas and decisions for individual products. The application of the LCG-A is demonstrated based on a virtual case study of a lithium-ion (li-ion) battery for e-mobility.