Life cycle assessment

—
Carbon footprint
of Polestar 3
2 Life cycle assessment 3
—
Author and contact

Authors Emil Svensson

Senior sustainability consultant, ​
AFRY Management consulting​
Lorena Huber
Sustainability consultant,
AFRY Management consulting​
Hanna Steinum
Sustainability consultant,
AFRY Management consulting

Contacts Johanna Bergh

Program sustainability at Polestar
[email protected]​
​ Emil Inberg
Environmental sustainability specialist at Polestar
[email protected]
4 Life cycle assessment 5
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Content

List of abbreviation 7
Executive summary 9
1 Methodology 13
1.1 The Product 13
1.2 Goal of study 13
1.3 Scope of study 15
1.4 Function and functional unit 16
1.5 Allocation 16
1.6 Main assumptions and exclusions 17
1.7 Data quality requirements 19
1.8 Critical review 19
1.9 Way of working overview 21
1.10 Methodology to define vehicle material composition 21
2 Life Cycle Inventory Analysis 25
2.1 Material production and refining 25
2.2 Aluminium production and refining 26
2.3 Steel production and refining 26
2.4 Electronics production and refining 27
2.5 Plastics production and refining 27
2.6 Minor material categories, production and refining 27
2.7 Electricity use in materials production and refining 27
2.8 Battery modules 29
2.9 Manufacturing and logistics 31
2.10 Use phase 31
2.11 Maintenance 33
2.12 End-of-life of the vehicle 35
3 LCIA Results 39
3.1 Cradle-to-gate 39
3.2 Cradle-to-grave 41
3.3 Sensitivity analysis 47
4 Discussion and Conclusion 51
Appendix 1: Chosen datasets 55
Appendix 2: Complete list of IMDS Material Library Material Categories 61
Appendix 3: Summary of data choices and assumptions for component
manufacturing 65
Appendix 4: End-of-life assumptions and method 67
Appendix 5: Data quality assessment 71
Appendix 6: Characterisation factors 81
Appendix 7: Critical review 85
6 Life cycle assessment 7
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List of abbreviation

ABS: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene

BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle
BOM: Bill of Materials
EoL: End-of-Life
GEC: Global Energy and Climate
GHG: Greenhouse Gas
GWP: Global Warming Potential
IEA: International Energy Agency
IMDS: International Material Data System
iPCA: iPoint compliance agent CA
IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
LCA: Life Cycle Assessment
NMC: Nickel Manganese Cobalt
OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer
PC: Polycarbonate
PCB: Printed Circuit Board
PET: Polyethylene Terephthalate
PE: Polyethylene
PP: Polypropylene
RER: Rest of Europe
STEPS: Stated Policies Scenario
VCC: Volvo Cars Company
WLTP: Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure
WTW: Well-to-Wheel
8 Life cycle assessment 9
—
Executive summary

Polestar is dedicated to ensuring transparency regarding the environmental

impact of its vehicles. This investigation aims to enhance openness by dis-
closing the carbon footprint associated with their passenger vehicles. The
audience includes customers, Polestar employees, investors, automotive
OEMs, and other stakeholders with an interest in the environmental perfor-
mance of our vehicles.
The conducted analysis is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) focused exclusively
on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, commonly referred to as a carbon
footprint analysis. This assessment analyses the global warming potential
(GWP) in accordance with ISO 14067 guidelines, utilising characterization
factors established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC,
2021). The scope of the study spans the entire life cycle of the vehicle, from
the extraction and refinement of raw materials to the end-of-life stage.
This report shows the carbon footprint of the new Polestar 3, which goes
into manufacturing in 2024. The study is a life cycle assessment (LCA), con-
sidering a driving distance of 200 000 kilometers and with a functional unit
of “1 vehicle-kilometer”. In general, this study adopts conservative assump-
tions to prevent underestimating the climate impact. Consequently, there is
currently no official standard for LCA for vehicles so the findings of this study
should be approached with caution when making comparisons with those
of other manufacturers. The study's objective is to comprehend the carbon
footprint of the vehicle in its entire lifespan. The aim is to offer valuable insights
that can help in making well-informed decisions, including identifying areas
where vehicles can minimise their carbon footprint. From previous reports
conducted by Polestar, aluminium production and battery module manufac-
turing has been pointed out as high contributing factors of emission in the
vehicles life time. Due to this, Polestar is actively working towards reducing
these impacts.
In conclusion the climate impact of the cradle-to-gate study reveals that
68% is credited to the materials utilised in the vehicle's production, aluminium
representing 24% of the emissions, and iron and steel contributing with 17%.
Following closely, the production of battery modules emerges as a significant
factor, constituting 24% of the cradle-to-gate climate impact. This battery has
relatively low impact, this is mainly due to the use of 100% renewable electric-
ity in the production of the anode and cathode in cell production of the battery
module.
10 Life cycle assessment 11
—
Executive summary

← Figure 1 The results of cradle-to-grave study, showed in figure 1, reveals a total carbon
footprint for the complete LCA for the vehicle an emission of 44 tonnes
Total carbon footprint cradle-to-grave CO2-eq. with global electricity mix in the use phase. 38% of the total climate
kg CO2-eq for the different electricity
mixes. The axel to the left presents the
impact is credited to the material production and refining, with aluminium
functional unit of 1 vkm and the axel to representing 14% of the material and refining emissions, and iron and steel
the right presents the vehicles lifetime contributing with 10% in the same category. Following is the use phase
of 200 000km. contributing 37% of the vehicle’s total climate impact, and then the battery
modules, constituting 16% of the overall climate impact.
Renewable energy sources, particularly wind power, demonstrate poten-
tial in reducing lifetime emissions during the use phase. Sensitivity analysis
indicates lower emissions per kilometer for longer distances, emphasizing
the importance of optimizing vehicle usage for sustainability. Promoting the
prolonged use and lifespan of vehicles can be a strategic approach to curb-
ing emissions. By extending the time a vehicle remains in service, the overall
demand for new vehicles is reduced. The environmental burden from the
manufacturing of the vehicle is also being reduced in a prolonged lifespan.
Anticipated improvements in regulatory (WLTP) energy consumption values
are expected to reduce energy usage, contributing to environmental sustain-
ability. However, considering alternative future energy scenarios alongside
current assessments, such as STEPS, could further enhance energy resource
efficiency. Additionally, alternative future energy evolution scenarios, beyond
the IEA STEPS scenario assumed in current assessments, could further
enhance energy resource efficiency.
Key findings:
– T
 he life cycle assessment cradle-to-grave for the vehicle reveals a total
carbon footprint emission of 44 tonnes CO2-eq. with global electricity mix
in the use phase. 38% of the total climate impact is due to the material
production and refining, with aluminium representing 14% of the material
and refining emissions, and iron and steel contributing with 10% in the
same category. Following is the use phase contributing 37% of the vehicle’s
total climate impact, and then the battery modules, constituting 16% of the
overall climate impact.
– Renewable energy sources, particularly wind power, demonstrate potential
in reducing lifetime emissions during the use phase. Sensitivity analysis
indicates lower emissions per kilometer for higher lifetime activity longer
distances, emphasizing the importance of optimizing vehicle usage for
sustainability from a total fleet perspective.
 1
12 Life cycle assessment 13
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Methodology

This chapter describes the methodology of the conducted life cycle assess-
ment (LCA) study.
1.1 The Product
Polestar has developed one plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (Polestar 1) and two
battery electric vehicles (BEV) (Polestar 2 and Polestar 4). This study assesses
the third BEV produced by Polestar, the Polestar 3. The study assesses the
first Polestar 3 variant that is introduced to the market: the long-range dual
motor variant produced in Volvo Car’s factory in Chengdu, China 2024. The
variant is produced with different specifications. This study encompasses the
specifications expected to have the largest sales volumes within the first year
of production.
The studied vehicle is presented in Table 1.

Table 1 →
Vehicle Total weight Li-ion battery Weight Energy
vehicle (kg) modules type and of battery usage WLTP
Studied vehicle.
capacity (kWh) modules (kg) (kWh/100
km)

Polestar 3 2 585 NMC, 111 kWh 474 20.1

The development of the methodology for this study was initiated jointly by
Polestar and Volvo Cars when performing carbon footprint studies of Volvo
XC40 Recharge and Polestar 2 in 2020. This methodology has been further
developed and now incorporates changes such as predicted energy mix in
use phase, inclusion of emissions from maintenance and an updated func-
tional unit. This will be further explained in the sections below.
1.2 Goal of study
Polestar has the ambition to become a climate neutral company by 2040 and
strives to be transparent about the climate impact of Polestar vehicles. The
goal of this study is to contribute to transparency by disclosing the carbon
footprint of the Polestar 3. The purpose of the vehicle is to transport passen-
gers and their belongings. The intended audience of this report are custom-
ers, employees at Polestar, investors, automotive OEMs (Original Equipment
Manufacturers), and other stakeholders who are interested in the environ-
mental performance of our vehicles. The study was carried out to increase the
knowledge about the carbon footprint of the Polestar 3, and which underlying
materials and processes that contribute the most. The aim is that this informa-
tion can be utilised to make informed decisions, for example, on where to put
effort in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The report is made public
at the Polestar webpage March 2024. It contains the complete study, there is
no additional separate documentation.
14 15

← Figure 2 1.3 Scope of study

System boundary of study. The study has been performed according to the carbon footprint standard
ISO 14067 and explores the global warming potential (GWP), using characteri-
sation factors for 100-year global warming potential (GWP) from the Intergov-
ernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2021), see Table 22 in Appendix 6.
According to ISO 14067, emissions and removals in the following categories
are included:
– Fossil GHG emissions and removals
– Biogenic GHG emissions and removals
– GHG emissions and removals from direct land use and land use change
– Aircraft GHG emissions
All significant GHGs emissions and removals from the processes included
in the study (see “Main assumptions and exclusions”) are quantified. Carbon
offsetting is not included. The study follows an attributional approach, i.e. it is
not aimed at capturing systemic changes.
In the use phase, planned maintenance of the vehicle is taken into account,
i.e. what is expected to be exchanged during the lifespan due to wear and tear
of the vehicle is included, like change of tyres and windscreen wipers, but not
changes due to accidents.
The study includes the vehicle life cycle from cradle-to-grave, starting at
extracting and refining of raw materials and ending at the End-of-Life (EoL)
of the vehicle (see Figure 2).
No cut-off criteria have been applied for the mass of the product content or
energy use. In other words, the intent is that the included inventory together
gives rise to the full carbon footprint. Mass that has not been declared as a
specific material by the suppliers is still included but approximated by model-
ling it as polyamide (the polymer with the highest carbon footprint out of the
polymer data used in the LCA). For more information on how this has been
handled, see section 2.1 “Material production and refining”.
The time boundary of the study is manufacturing of the vehicle in 2024, and
operating the vehicle over 15 years, after which EoL handling occurs.
The geographical boundary of the study is vehicle manufacturing in China,
and use of the vehicle in Europe and the world, i.e. average figures for the
electricity mix in Europe and the world are used for the use phase (as well as
a scenario of using electricity generated from wind power). EoL geographical
system boundary is set to global. For upstream processes, i.e. before the
vehicle manufacturing, generic datasets for raw material production and
refining in a specific country or region have been used when it is known or
likely that production/refining takes place there, if available. This is one step
towards better data quality compared to the previous carbon footprint study
on Polestar 2 which used global datasets for upstream processes as a first
option. The methodology for choosing generic data is further described in the
Polestar 2 carbon footprint report1 “Appendix 1: General methodology when
choosing datasets for complete vehicle carbon footprints”.

1 https://www.polestar.com/
dato-assets/11286/1600176185-
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Another contrast to the Polestar 2 carbon footprint study is that this study use This means that the user of recycled material carries the burden of the recy-
of primary aluminium using hydropower electricity in the smelting step. Use cling process, and that no credit is given to the system that generates the
of recycled aluminium and steel, and use of biobased material, have not been material that is sent to recycling. This is applied both for the material that is
considered in the modelling due to lack of data on the specific amounts in the sent to recycling from the manufacturing process and at EoL of the vehicle.
vehicle. For the polymers, excluding biobased content means that the climate
impact is slightly overestimated for the polymers, but the effect on the overall In the manufacturing facilities, total number of completed vehicles is used
result is minor. The dataset on steel production already contains a default per- as the allocation basis, since there is a strong correlation between the use of
centage of recycled content, which is not the case for the aluminium dataset. resources and the total number of vehicles produced, irrespective of size of
The lack of inclusion of data on recycled aluminium content thus means that the vehicles.
the climate impact for the aluminium production is overestimated. No system expansion has been applied in this study, i.e. no credits have been
Generic data, as opposed to supplier-specific data, has been used for most of given for materials being recycled and potentially avoiding other material
the upstream processes, over which Polestar does not have financial control. production, or for energy generated in waste incineration potentially avoiding
This means that the modelling of production of components in the vehicle other energy production.
have been based on the material composition of the components, using 1.6 Main assumptions and exclusions
generic datasets for materials and adding a generic manufacturing process
for each material. Hence, there are steps in some of the manufacturing value In general, assumptions have been made in a conservative fashion following
chains, specific to vehicle components, that might not be included, such as the precautionary principle, in order to not underestimate the climate impact
assembly processes at tier 1 suppliers. However, the contribution of these pro- from unknown data. For example, when no suitable dataset has been availa-
cesses to the total carbon footprint is likely to be very small. ble to represent the manufacturing process for a certain material (from raw
material to finished vehicle component), the emissions from the raw material
1.4 Function and functional unit production has been multiplied by two to compensate for the emissions from
The functional unit is 1 vehicle-kilometre (1 vkm). In the Polestar 2 carbon foot- further processing. This is described in 2.7. “Minor material categories, pro-
print study, the vehicle lifetime mileage was used as the functional unit1. The duction and refining”.
functional unit has been changed since 1 vkm better captures the function of The use phase considers a lifespan of 15 years of the vehicle; probable
the vehicle – the mobility – and also captures the effect of the lifetime mile- changes in the electricity mix during this time is considered in the study based
age of the vehicle; the longer the lifetime mileage, the lower life cycle climate on the stated policies scenario (STEPS) from the International Energy Agency
impact per 1 vkm. In practice, this means that the climate impact is calculated (IEA). This scenario is a slightly conservative benchmark for the future, since it
for the total life cycle and divided by the total km driven during the lifetime of does not take for granted, that governments will reach their announced com-
the vehicle. The result will also be provided cradle-to-gate per produced vehi- mitments, Nationally Determined Contributions or other long-term climate
cle and cradle-to-grave for a lifetime of 200 000km distance driven. targets, but instead only considers forecasted effects of decided policies.
The reference flow in the study is the weight of the vehicle divided by the The energy use of the vehicle corresponds to driving according to the WLTP
lifetime distance driven of 200 000 km. Table 1 shows the weight of the vehicle driving cycle; it includes losses occurring during charging and in the drive-
in the study. train during driving, and only essential auxiliary systems are run while driving
1.5 Allocation (excluding e.g. infotainment, air conditioning). The energy use in the use phase
is explored in a sensitivity analysis.
The total of assigned inputs and outputs for a unit process will match the
inputs and outputs of the unit process prior to allocation. The lifetime mileage of the vehicle is 200 000 km. As larger personal vehicles
as the ones studied here can be argued to have a longer lifetime distance
When it comes to material sent to recycling, the emissions from producing driven3, the effect of this is explored in a sensitivity analysis. The battery is
this material have been allocated to the vehicle. That means that, for example, assumed to last the full lifetime mileage of the vehicle.
the produced amount of steel and aluminium included in the carbon footprint
calculation does not only include the amount of the material in the vehicle, but The study does not include:
also the production of metal that is removed during processing and sent to – Non-manufacturing operations such as business travels, R&D activities
recycling throughout the whole manufacturing chain. or other indirect emissions
More specifically, this study uses the simple cut-off approach (also called the – Manufacturing infrastructure e.g., the production and maintenance of
recycled content approach), which is the recommended method according 1 https://www.polestar.com/
dato-assets/11286/1600176185- buildings, inventories or other equipment used in the vehicle manufacturing
to the EPD2 system. This method follows the “polluter pays principle” mean- plant in Chengdu, China. However, when generic datasets are used, which
20200915polestarlcafinala.pdf
ing that if there are several product systems sharing the same material, the is the case for energy generation, transportation means, and production of
product causing the waste shall carry the environmental impact. This means 2 https://www.datocms-assets. ingoing materials, manufacturing infrastructure is automatically included
that the system boundary is specified to occur at the point of “lowest market com/37502/1617181375-general-
value”. However, if the material does not go to a new product system, the final programme-instructions-v-4.pdf – Construction and maintenance of roads and charging infrastructure in the
disposal is included within the life cycle of the vehicle. use phase
3 https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-
detail/-/publication/1f494180-bc0e-11ea-
811c-01aa75ed71a1
 18 19

Aspect Description Requirements in this study

← Table 2 1.7 Data quality requirements
Data quality requirements The data quality requirements used in the study are shown in Table 2. The data
used in the study. quality indicators used to assess the data used in the study can be found in
Appendix 5, together with the quality assessment itself.
Time-related coverage Desired age of data. General data should represent the current situation of the
date of study (2023), or as close as possible. All data should Considering the data quality requirements in Table 2, the data used in this
be less than 10 years old. study fulfil the requirements except that a considerable amount of the data-
sets used in the material production and refining are more than 10 years old
Geographical coverage Area from which data for unit Material production and refining should be representative and/or not representing the location of production, and that the technological
processes should be collected. of region where the material/component is produced, when coverage is insufficient for the EoL stage. This is due to both uncertainty of
known. Vehicle manufacturing should be representative of material origin, uncertainty of waste handling practises globally, and lack of
the manufacturing site location. The use phase data should geographical coverage in databases. For more details about the data quality
be representative of European and global average. End-of-life
data should be representative of global average. assessment, see Appendix 5.
1.8 Critical review
Technology coverage Type of technology Data should be representative of the technology used in
(specific or average mix). production processes. Compliance with ISO 14067 this study has been critically reviewed by a third
party, see Appendix 7.
Representativeness Degree to which the data set reflects Primary data that is representative of the process should be
the true population of interest. used for processes under VCC financial control. Secondary
data may be used for upstream and downstream processes
but fulfilling the requirements above on time-related,
geographical and technology coverage.

Precision Measure of the variability of the Data that is as representative as possible will be used. Data
data values. will be derived from credible sources, and references will be
provided.

Completeness Assessment of whether all relevant Generic data will be derived from credible sources, such
input and output data are included as recognised LCI databases. Internal data should cover all
for each data set. relevant inputs and outputs. The data collected from battery
module supplier should be verified in close collaboration with
the supplier.

Reproducibility Assessment of the method and Information about the method and data (reference source)
data, and whether an independent should be provided.
practitioner will be able to reproduce
the results.

Sources of the data Assessment of the data sources used. Data will be derived from credible sources, and references
will be provided.

Uncertainty of the e.g. data, models, assumptions. Data will be derived from credible sources, and references
information will be provided.
20 21

← Figure 3 1.9 Way of working overview

Shows a high-level overview of Figure 3 shows a high-level overview of how Polestar works to derive carbon
how Polestar works to derive footprints of vehicles.
carbon footprints of vehicles.
There are four main ways that data needed for the final carbon footprint are
retrieved:
– IMDS4 (International Material Data System) datasheets which contain infor-
mation on material compositions of the components in a vehicle.
– LCI databases from ecoinvent5 (version 3.9.1) and Sphera6.
– Data from operations controlled by Polestar, such as manufacturing plants
and logistics.
– Carbon footprint of Li-ion battery modules, performed by the supplier with
guidance and support from Polestar.
1.10 Methodology to define vehicle material composition
The Bill of Materials (BoM) is an important component of the LCA and consists
of the parts used in the vehicle and their respective weights and materials
composition. The “part number vehicle BoM” is extracted from the product
data management system. However, this BoM cannot be used as direct input
to the LCA-model in LCA for Experts but must be processed and aggregated
in several steps to a suitable “material BoM”.
The material information, except for the Li-ion battery modules, comes from
datasheets in IMDS. A complete vehicle in IMDS consists of about 10 000
different materials. To make the number of materials manageable in LCA for
Experts, they are aggregated to more than 70 defined material categories in a
material library developed by Volvo Cars (IMDS ML). The “part number BoM”
from the product data management system is uploaded to the IMDS ML
system iPoint Compliance Agent (iPCA).
In iPCA a “material BoM” is generated that is imported to IMDS ML where all
materials are mapped against the 70 defined material categories.

4 IMDS, www.mdsystem.com

5 Ecoinvent, www.ecoinvent.org

6 Sphera LCA databases https://sphera.

com/product-sustainability-gabi-data-
search/
22 23

In order to have an efficient and systematic approach, this mapping is done

in an automated way. The rules to categorise the materials are set up based
on IMDS material category, material name and substance content. It is also
possible to manually allocate materials in the IMDS ML, however, this is done
in the most restrictive way possible. For this carbon footprint study, IMDS ML
release 9 is used with the material categories listed in Table 3. For the com-
plete list of material categories, see Appendix 2.

Table 3 →
Material type Number of material Share of total weight
categories of the vehicle
Material categories defined in IMDS ML
release 9. Note that Li-ion battery modules
are treated separately and therefore not Steel & iron 5 43%
included in the table.
Aluminium 3 25%

Other metals 3 < 1%

Polymers 35 18%

Natural materials 3 < 1%

Elastomers / elastomeric
2 3%
compounds (unspecified)

Electronics 1 < 1%

Fluids & undefined 15 7%

Copper 2 3%

The “material BoM” has been modelled in LCA for Experts with relevant
manufacturing process datasets. To follow the ISO 14067 standard, emission
factors for the five impact categories have been calculated from the model in
LCA for Experts for each material type including processes and refining, and
then extracted into a excel document. This is done for both cradle-to-grave
emission factors and for EOL emission factors. After this is done, each compo-
nents emission is calculated by its respective mass.
For the Li-ion battery modules, specific supplier carbon footprint data was
used instead of IMDS data. The variety and accuracy of generic datasets for
Li-ion batteries is limited, but through the collaboration with the battery mod-
ule supplier the risk of inaccuracies has been minimised to the best of efforts.
 2
24 Life cycle assessment 25
—
Life Cycle Inventory Analysis

← Figure 4 This chapter will describe the life cycle inventory of the study.
Shares of material categories of vehicle 2.1 Material production and refining
weight without battery.
Material production and refining is based on a BoM containing material com-
position and material weight. The BoM used for modelling in LCA for Experts
is specifically developed to be used for the LCA modelling in LCA for Experts
and states the composition of the vehicle based on more than 70 material
categories. Each material category has an identified mass. The total weight
of all material categories is then compared with the total weight of the vehicle.
See Figure 4 for share of material categories for the vehicle.
In LCA for Experts each material has been coupled with one or several
datasets (containing LCI-data) representing the production and refining of
the material in each specific material category. See Appendix 1 – Chosen
datasets.
The material production and refining are modelled using datasets from
Sphera Professional database and ecoinvent 3.9.1 data. The datasets have
been chosen according to the Polestar methodology for choosing generic
datasets (described in Appendix 1 in the Polestar 2 carbon footprint report7).
The material content corresponding to the entire weight of the vehicle is
included in the LCA, but a small amount of materials has been categorised as
“fluids & undefined material” in the material library. The share of fluids &
undefined material of the total vehicle weight (including battery modules) for
Polestar 3 is 6%. Since the undefined category seems to contain mostly unde-
fined polymers, a dataset for Polyamide (Nylon 6) has been used as approx-
imation. This assumption is based on the fact that Polyamide is the polymer
with the highest Carbon Footprint, out of the polymer data used in the LCA.
All filled polymers have been assumed to contain 78% polymer resin, 14%
glass fiber and 8% talc representing an average of filled polymers as reported
in IMDS.
In most cases, datasets that include both production of raw material as well as
component manufacturing ready to be assembled in the vehicle are not avail-
able. Therefore, several datasets representing the refining and production
of parts have been used for most material categories. The datasets used to
represent further refining and manufacturing of parts are listed in Appendix 1.
For most database datasets representing materials production and refining
processes it has not been possible to modify the electricity, i.e. the built-in
electricity has been used.
When the materials have been categorised and then modelled in LCA for
Experts the emission factor for each material group have been multiplied with
the weight corresponding to that material group. This has been done for all
five impact categories according to ISO 14067, for manufacturing and for EoL.

7 https://www.polestar.com/
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2.2 Aluminium production and refining 2.4 Electronics production and refining
The share of aluminium that is cast aluminium and wrought aluminium is The material category called “electronics” includes printed circuit boards
assumed to be 65% cast aluminium and 35% wrought aluminium. This is (PCB) and the components mounted on them. It does not include chassis,
based on the report “Aluminium content in European passenger cars”8. All cables or other parts that are present in electronic components. All materials
wrought aluminium has been assumed to go through the process of making that are used in electronic devices that are not PCBs have been sorted into
aluminium sheets. The assumption of wrought aluminium being aluminium other categories, such as copper or different types of polymers.
sheets is a conservative assumption, since sheet production has a higher
amount of scrap than most other wrought processes. The cast aluminium For the category “electronics” a generic data set from ecoinvent 3.9.1 has been
goes through a process for die-casting aluminium. used. This dataset represents the production of lead-free, mounted PCBs.

The losses occurring in the processes of making the aluminium parts for the 2.5 Plastics production and refining
vehicle is included in the Carbon Footprint, and since a cut-off is applied at the For polymer materials, an injection moulding process has been used to repre-
point of losses occurring in the production in the factory, the total footprint of sent the processing of plastic parts from a polymer raw material. The material
the losses is allocated to the vehicle even though the aluminium scrap is sent utilisation rate for the manufacturing processes of plastics can be seen in
to recycling and used in other products. The material utilisation rate for the Appendix 3.
manufacturing processes of both cast aluminium and wrought aluminium can
be seen in Appendix 3. 30 kg of the plastics in Polestar 3 are recycled plastics. This share has been
modelled with a dataset for mechanically recycled plastics.
All aluminium is assumed to be produced in China. The assumption is based
on an expert judgement by Polestar logistic specialists. The aluminium used in 2.6 Minor material categories, production and refining
some identified parts in the vehicle comes from renewable electricity smelt- There are raw materials for which data on processing is missing in the LCA-
ers. This share has been modeled with a fossil emission factor representing databases. In those cases, the material weight was doubled as an estimation
hydropower aluminium smelting in China. The emission factor was obtained for the processing. This means that the processing process is assumed to
through Polestar’s own investigations and is a conservative assumption how- have the same carbon footprint as the production of the raw material itself.
ever the other emission factors were not provided (like biogenic emissions, This has been applied only for minor materials (by weight).
aircraft emissions etc.).
2.7 Electricity use in materials production and refining
2.3 Steel production and refining
Most of the datasets used for materials production and refining have built-in
The raw material dataset used for the material category “unalloyed steel” electricity grid mix corresponding to the region the dataset is compiled for.
has an output of rolled and galvanised steel. A processing process has then In the few partially aggregated processes in the Sphera databases where
been added to all steel. Which processing process has been chosen depends it is possible to add an electricity mix by choice, Chinese electricity grid mix
on whether the steel is stamped in the factory or not. Hence, the steel cate- is applied.
gorised as unalloyed steel in the material library has been divided into two
sub-groups depending on the manufacturing process following the rolling
and galvanising of the steel:
The steel that is processed and stamped in the factory. The Material Utilisa-
tion Degree is according to Volvo Cars data (see Appendix 3). The rest of the
steel, which is distributed in various components of the vehicle. The Material
Utilisation Degree is according to the chosen database dataset, i.e. literature
value.
The losses occurring in the processes of making the steel parts for the vehicle,
independent of processes, is included in the Carbon Footprint, and the same
cut-off as for aluminium is applied. The material utilisation rate for the manu-
facturing processes of steel processed at Volvo Cars and steel processed at
suppliers can be seen in Appendix 3.
All steel is assumed to be produced in China. The assumption is based on an
expert judgement by Polestar logistic specialists.

8 https://european-aluminium.eu/
wp-content/uploads/2022/10/aluminum-
content-in-european-cars_european-
aluminium_public-summary_101019-1.pdf
28 29

← Figure 5 2.8 Battery modules

Flowchart for battery manufacturing. Polestar purchases battery modules from a battery supplier, who, in collab-
oration with Polestar, performed cradle-to-gate carbon footprint LCAs of
their battery module (up until Polestar logistics take over). See Figure 5 for the
flowchart of battery manufacturing. The battery modules have therefore been
removed from the BoM based on IMDS data and are modelled separately in
the Complete Vehicle LCA. All other parts of the battery pack are included in
the materials BoM, based on IMDS data. The total weight for the battery pack
is 663 kg with modules being 474 kg and battery casing 189 kg. The highest
weight for the battery pack, excluding the modules are allocated to the alumi-
num tray and the steel lid.
For the cell production, specifically the production of the anode and cathode,
the supplier purchase certificates for renewable energy sources.
The report adheres to LCA standards such as ISO 14044:2006, ISO
14040:2006, and ISO 14067-2018, and the assessment's system boundary
extends from cradle-to-gate. The impact categories considered include the
Global Warming Potential (GWP) over 100 years, following the IPCC's 6th
Assessment Report (AR6), with consideration given to all GHG, not just CO2.
The unit of measurement utilised is kg CO2-eq. The functional units assessed
in the report are the capacity of a finalised battery cell (measured in 1 kWh)
and the capacity of a finalised battery module (measured in kWh). The assess-
ment's time boundary was set at 2021, capturing the environmental impact
within that specific timeframe. The supplier has used the Sphera tool LCA For
Experts to model the impacts of the battery modules. Primary data has been
used for energy input at the module supplier and at anode and cathode mate-
rial suppliers. The cell manufacturing and module assembly uses hydropower
as main electricity source and natural gas for heating.
The calculated emissions for the battery module from the manufacturer are
based on predictions that will be implemented during summer 2024 in the
form of purchase of renewable energy source permits.
The anode and cathode material suppliers will secure renewable electricity
for their production, going into effect during summer 2024, some months after
start of production. However, since the batteries will be produced for many
years, the estimated effect of this improvement has been included in this
vehicle study in accordance with Volvo cars specialist. Therefore, the majority
of vehicles manufactured will incorporate battery modules produced through
the acquisition of certificates for renewable energy sources.
30 31

← Figure 6 2.9 Manufacturing and logistics

Assumed driving distances (km) per year 2.9.1 Logistics
during the lifetime of the vehicle. Since Polestar 3 is produced in Volvo Car plants, Volvo Cars has provided data
to calculate GHG emissions for transports from Tier 1 suppliers to the manu-
facturing site (inbound transport). Volvo Cars’ total emissions from inbound
transports divided by the total number of Volvo Cars vehicles produced during
the same year (2022) has been applied. Volvo Cars data has also been used to
calculate GHG emissions for transports from the manufacturing site to cus-
tomer handover (outbound transport). Volvo Cars’ total emissions from trans-
ports of Volvo Cars vehicles from Volvo Cars manufacturing sites to Volvo
Cars dealers divided by the total number of Volvo Cars vehicles sold during
the same year (2022) has been applied. Emission factors from the Network
for Transport Measures (NTM)9 has been used as a basis for the calculations.
The climate impact is not specified into emission categories, such as biogenic
emission or fossil emissions and therefore has conservatively been assumed
to only be associated with fossil emissions.
2.9.2 Manufacturing
A forecast of expected electricity (40 % hydro power, 60 % wind power
with emission factor 0,01324 kg CO2 eq./kWh) and natural gas usage in the
Chengdu factory was obtained using site-specific input data. The GHG emis-
sions per vehicle were then calculated by dividing the total GHG emissions
from the factory by the expected total amount of produced vehicles from that
factory during the first year of production.
2.10 Use phase
To be able to calculate the emissions in the use phase of the vehicle, the
distance driven is needed together with the energy use, as well as emissions
from electricity production. The vehicle lifetime driving distance for Polestar
vehicles has been set to 200 000 km, and energy use of the vehicle corre-
sponds to driving according to the WLTP driving cycle 20.1 kWh/100km.
Electricity production is modelled according to three cases: regional (global
and EU28) grid mix and as a specific energy source (wind). Current and future
global and EU28 electricity generation mixes are based on the World Energy
Outlook 2022 Extended Dataset10 from IEA. Amounts of electricity from
different energy sources have in this study been paired with appropriate LCI
datasets from Sphera professional database (see Appendix 1) to determine
the total climate impacts from different electricity generation mixes, both
direct (at the site of electricity generation) and upstream.
The study has correlated electricity quantities from various energy sources
with relevant LCI datasets from Sphera (refer to Appendix 1) to assess the
overall environmental impacts stemming from diverse electricity genera-
tion mixes. This evaluation encompasses both direct impacts (occurring at
the electricity generation site) and upstream effects. The analysis assumes
that 50% of a vehicle’s total lifetime mileage is covered in the initial five years,
equivalent to 20 000 kilometers per year, while 30% is driven in the subse-
quent five years, amounting to 12 000 kilometers annually.
During the last five year of the vehicle’s life it is assumed that the yearly dis-
tance driven is 8 000 km, illustrated in Figure 6.
9 https://www.transportmeasures.
org/en/

10 World Energy Outlook 2022

Extended Dataset - Data product - IEA
32 33

← Figure 7 IEA uses the Global Energy and Climate (GEC) Model to explore possible
future energy related scenarios based on different assumptions. For this
Predicted share of energy production study, STEPS has been used to determine the electricity generation mixes
sectors in the Stated Policies Scenario
STEPS for global energy mix.
used to charge the vehicles in the use phase. STEPS reflects current policy
settings based on a sector-by-sector and country by country assessment
of the specific policies that are in place, as well as those that have been
announced by governments around the world.
Figure 7 and Figure 8 visually represent the development of electricity
sources. It is evident that the production of electricity from fossil sources
is expected to diminish, gradually replaced by renewable sources based
on the IEA STEPS data.
The well-to-wheel (WTW) emission data for the electricity usage for the
vehicle is based on regulatory type-approval testing according to WLTP
(Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure - used for certification
of vehicles in EU). Losses during charging are included in the electricity use of
the BEV. The electricity use of the vehicles is 20.1 kWh/100 km.
The energy use in the use phase is modelled based on the WLTP test as that
is a global standard. WLTP does not, however, take all driving conditions into
account, and, for example, assumes a driving condition where heating or cool-
ing is not necessary and no use of infotainment in use. This could, especially
for certain markets, lead to an underestimated energy use figure.
2.11 Maintenance
For 15 years lifespan of the vehicle, it is assumed that some vehicle parts are
required to be replaced. The data for maintenance of the vehicle is based
on data for maintenance of EX90, this vehicle model was chosen due to the
accessibility of the information of its LCA study. The maintenance list is pre-
← Figure 8 sented in Table 4. It is assumed that the number of items represents groups of
items, e.g. one wiper blade represents the entire set of the three wiper blades,
Predicted share of energy production i.e. two front and one rear. The vehicle tyres are design to last 40 000 km. It
sectors in the Stated Policies Scenario is assumed that the tyres are not changed just before EoL, therefore 16 tyres
STEPS for European energy mix.
need to be changed during the lifetime. For each part the corresponding item
is found in the BoM and specific material data is used together with the corre-
sponding dataset, in the same way as material production and refining.
34 35

← Figure 9
Vehicle part Unit
End-of-life flow chart.
Wiper blades number of sets 39

Tyres number of items 16

Brake fluid liters 2

Brake pads number of items 24

Brake discs number of items 4

Lead, battery 12 V number of items 3

Steering joint number of items 1

Link arm number of items 2

Condenser number of items 1

number of AC container
Table 4 → AC fluid 2
volume

Maintenance parts changed during the Cabin filter number of items 12

lifetime of the vehicle.

2.12 End-of-life of the vehicle

It is assumed that all vehicles, at their EoL, are collected and sent to EoL
treatment.
The same methodology as described in Chapter 1.5 Allocation is applied.
Focusing on the point of lowest market value, according to the polluter pays
principle, implies inclusion of steps like dismantling and pre-treatment (like
shredding and specific component pre-treatment), but it does not include
material separation, refining, or any credit for reuse in another product sys-
tem, see Figure 9.
The EoL was modelled to represent global average situations as far as possi-
ble. The handling consists of a disassembly step to remove hazardous com-
ponents and components that are candidates for specific recycling efforts.
After this the disassembled parts are treated, and the remaining vehicle is
shredded. According to material type the resulting fractions go either to mate-
rial recycling, incineration or landfill.
In the disassembly stage, hazardous and/or valuable components are
removed from the vehicle including:
– batteries, wheels, tyres
– liquids: coolants, antifreeze, brake fluid, air-conditioning gas, shock
absorber fluid and windscreen wash
– airbags and seat belt pretensioners removed or set off
36 37

From a global perspective, the treatment of coolant generally implies inciner-

ation. 55 %11 of the tires are assumed to be salvaged for rubber recovery, and
the rest to be incinerated. The lead batteries are assumed to be salvaged for
lead recovery. Airbags and seat belt pretensioners, which are disassembled
for safety reasons rather than the potential recycling value, are assumed to
be incinerated. The Li-ion battery module is assumed to be taken out of the
vehicle and sent to recycling. The assumption is that the Li-ion battery will be
removed from the vehicle and sent for recycling due to the presence of valu-
able materials inside the battery module. This comes from the resource-in-
tensive and economically costly processes involved in extracting and refining
these materials. Additionally, it is anticipated that recycling legislation will
become more stringent, particularly as the vehicle approaches the end of its
lifecycle.
All other parts of the vehicle are sent to shredding. In this process, the materi-
als in the vehicle are shredded and then divided into fractions, depending on
different physical and magnetic properties. Typical fractions are:
– ferrous metals (steel, cast iron, etc.)
– non-ferrous metals (aluminium, copper, etc.)
– shredder light fraction (plastics, ceramics, etc.)
The metal fractions can be sent for further refining and, in the end, material
recycling. The combustible part of the low fraction can be incinerated for
energy, or the entire fraction can end up in a landfill. For the purposes of this
study, it is assumed the combustible streams of materials are incinerated,
while the non-combustible materials are landfilled.
Due to the global focus of the study, no energy recovery is included for the
incineration steps, even though in some Polestar markets, there is indeed
energy recovery from incineration of waste. This somewhat conservative
assumption has been made due to the fact that there are many markets with
no energy recovery, and data on how common the case with energy recovery
is for the combustible streams is unknown. Assessment of material losses
after shredding and in refining are outside the system boundaries set by the
cut-off approach.

11 https://weibold.com/europe-collected-
and-recycled-94-percent-of-endoflife-
tires-in-2019#:~:text=According%20
to%20ETRMA%2C%2094%25%20
of,between%2092%25%20and%2095%25.
 3
38 Life cycle assessment 39
—
LCIA Results

← Figure 10 In the subsequent section, we present the findings of the study. It will start by
showing cradle-to-gate results and then cradle-to-grave. It also includes a
Share of cradle-to-gate emissions sensitivity analysis. In accordance with ISO standards, the quantified results
in kg CO2-eq. for 1 vehicle.
within this report have been rounded to three significant digits. This practice
serves to improve clarity and maintain consistency throughout the report.
Rounding the figures aids in enhancing readability and acknowledges the
inherent uncertainties associated with the results.
3.1 Cradle-to-gate
The results showcased in Figure 10 displays the total carbon footprint from
cradle-to-gate concerning the production of 1 vehicle with a weight of 2.5
tonnes. As per this assessment, the largest share of impact, constituting
68% of the total, comes from the variety of materials utilised in the vehicle's
production, relative from the different parts of the life cycle. Subsequently, the
battery modules contribute significantly, accounting for 24% of the cradle-to-
gate climate impact, while only a minor 7% of the total footprint is associated
with logistics and 1% manufacturing processes.
Table 5 presents the comprehensive climate impact in tonnes CO2-eq.
throughout the cradle-to-gate life cycle of the vehicle. The total climate impact
accounts for 24.7 tonnes CO2-eq. for entire vehicle, being the material produc-
tion and refining the category with the largest carbon footprint impact. See
visualisation of results in Figure 11.

Table 5 →
Polestar 3 Materials Li-ion Manu­ Logistics Total
Cradle-to-gate total climate impact in production battery facturing
and refining modules
tonne CO2-eq. for the life cycle of the
vehicle.
Tonnes
CO2-eq. per 16.8 5.88 0.20 1.81 24.7
vehicle

← Figure 11

Cradle-to-gate total climate impact in kg

CO2-eq. for the life cycle of the vehicle.
 40 41

← Figure 12 3.2 Cradle-to-grave

Total carbon footprint cradle-to-grave kg The results of the comprehensive LCA for the vehicle, considering three
CO2-eq. The axel to the left presents the distinct electricity mixes, are presented in Table 12 for the cradle-to-grave
functional unit of 1 vkm and the axel to the study. Depending on the electricity mixes for the use phase, the climate
right presents the vehicles lifetime of 200 impacts differ.
000km.
The life cycle stages with the most significant climate impact for the global
electricity mix are "Materials Production and Refining and the use phase.
During the use phase, large variations are observed based on the electricity
sources employed for driving. Wind power electricity exhibits the least climate
impact during the use phase, followed by electricity from European sources.
Table 6 presents the climate impact in kg CO2-eq. throughout the cradle-to-
grave life cycle of the vehicle, for different energy mixes during use phase. The
total climate impact accounts for 44.5 tonnes CO2-eq. for entire vehicle with
global energy mix, having the material production and refining and use phase
being the categories with the largest carbon footprint impact.
For European energy mix and for wind powered electricity the highest climate
impacts are seen in material production and refining and the use phase for
the different electricity mix scenarios. Total climate impact accounts for 35.3
tonnes CO2-eq. and 28.5 tonnes CO2-eq. respectively, for entire vehicle.
Figure 12 displays the same results for both vehicle-kilometers and a lifetime
driving distance of 200 000 kilometers for the three electricity scenarios.
3.2.1 Climate impact
According to ISO 14067 this study includes the five different climate impact
categories: fossil GHG emissions, emissions from land use change, biogenic
GHG emissions and removal, and aircraft emissions.
← Table 6
Global electricity European electricity Wind power electricity The five climate change impact categories are shown in Figure 13. Fossil
Cradle-to-grave kg CO2-eq. climate impact GHG emissions accounts for the largest portion of the total climate impact,
Tonnes g CO2-eq. per Tonnes g CO2-eq. per Tonnes g CO2-eq. per with different energy mix during use phase with 96.5% of total GHG emissions followed by biogenic carbon emissions
CO2-eq. vehicle-km CO2-eq. vehicle-km CO2-eq. vehicle-km for the functional unit 1 vkm, and for the of 3.47%. Land use change emission together with air craft emissions are
per vehicle per vehicle per vehicle entire life cycle of 1 vehicle with driving reported negligible in contrast to the other emissions. Biogenic carbon
distance 200 000 km.
removal is equal in magnitude as biogenic emissions.
Materials production
16.8 84.2 16.8 84.2 16.8 84.2
and refining These percentages are based on the global energy mix, due to that mix being
the most conservative for GWP. This is represented in Table 7. In Table 8 and
Li-ion battery modules 5.88 29.4 5.88 29.4 5.88 29.4 Table 9 the two additional energy mixes are represented for each climate
impact category.
Manufacturing and
2.01 10.1 2.10 10.1 2.10 10.0 3.2.2 Climate impact materials production and refining
logistics
The primary contributors to GHG emissions from vehicle manufacturing
Use phase STEPS 16.5 82.7 7.30 36.5 0.55 2.78 (excluding battery) are aluminium, accounting for than 14% of the total climate
impact, followed by steel and iron at 10%. Additionally, the climate impact from
End-of-Life 1.17 5.87 1.17 5.87 1.18 5.88 polymers 7% and electronics 5% used in vehicles rank as the third and fourth
most significant. Other categories such as fluids, copper, other metals, and
Maintenance 2.05 10.3 2.11 10.3 2.06 10.3 tires also contribute to the overall emissions but to a lesser degree.

Total 44.5 223 35.3 176 28.5 143

 42 43

← Figure 13 ↓ Table 8

Results cradle-to-grave according to Results according to functional unit 1 vkm

functional unit 1 vkm for the five climate for the five climate impacts categories
impacts categories according to ISO 14067 according to ISO 14067 with European
with global energy mix in kg CO2-eq. energy mix in kg CO2-eq.

Fossil GHG Emissions from Biogenic GHG Biogenic GHG Air craft emissions
emissions g land use change removal g CO2-eq. emissions g g CO2-eq.
CO2-eq. (dLUC) g CO2-eq. CO2-eq.

Materials production
84.3 0.05 -1.38 1.25 0
and refining

Li-ion battery modules 29.4 – – – –

Manufacturing and
10.1 – – – –
logistics

Use phase STEPS 36.4 0 -1.18 1.18 0

End-of-Life 5.87 0 -0.07 0.07 0

Maintenance 10.3 0 -0.03 0.03 0

Fossil GHG Emissions from Biogenic GHG Biogenic GHG Air craft emissions Fossil GHG Emissions from Biogenic GHG Biogenic GHG Air craft emissions
emissions g land use change removal g CO2-eq. emissions g g CO2-eq. emissions g land use change removal g CO2-eq. emissions g g CO2-eq.
CO2-eq. (dLUC) g CO2-eq. CO2-eq. CO2-eq. (dLUC) g CO2-eq. CO2-eq.

Materials production Materials production

84.3 0.05 -1.38 1.25 0 84.3 0.05 -1.38 1.26 0
and refining and refining

Li-ion battery modules 29.4 – – – – Li-ion battery modules 29.4 – – – –

Manufacturing and Manufacturing and

10.1 – – – – 10.1 – – – –
logistics logistics

Use phase STEPS 82.7 0 -6.33 6.33 0 Use phase STEPS 2.77 0 -1.18 0 0

End-of-Life 5.87 0 -0.07 0.07 0 End-of-Life 5.87 0 -0.07 0 0

Maintenance 10.3 0 -0.29 0.35 0 Maintenance 10.3 0.01 -0.03 0 0

↑ Table 7 ↑ Table 9

Results according to functional unit 1 vkm Results according to functional unit 1 vkm
for the five climate impacts categories for the five climate impacts categories
according to ISO 14067 with global energy according to ISO 14067 with wind energy
mix in kg CO2-eq. in kg CO2-eq.
44 45

← Figure 14 Table 10 shows the results for GWP 100 in kg CO2-eq. for the different mate-
rials used during the manufacturing of the vehicle and Figure 14 share of the
Share of GWP 100 results in kg CO2-eq. for results for GWP 100 in kg CO2-eq of each material category.
different materials categories.

GWP 100 Total Tonnes CO2-eq.

Steel and Iron 4.40

Aluminium 6.30

Polymers 3.00

Elec­tronics 2.10

Fluids and Undefined 0.70

Other Metals 0.90

Copper 0.30

Table 10 → Tyres 0.30

GWP 100 results in kg CO2-eq. for different Natural Materials 0.04

materials categories.

3.2.3 Climate impact of battery

The results for the battery climate impact were provided by the supplier in
a LCA report. The scope includes analysing processes from raw material
extraction to the finalised product at the battery company gate. The impact
categories focus on GWP over 100 years. Evaluation was based on two func-
tional units: kWh capacity of battery cells, and modules, as explained in chap-
ter 2.2. Data from primary processes managed by the reporting company,
while specific data sources include manufacturing plants and contracted sup-
pliers, energy used as electricity comes mainly from hydropower from pur-
chase agreements, and thermal power generated from natural gas. Generic
data was based on attributional modeling and represent the process's geo-
graphical region and extracted from LCI databases like ecoinvent and Sphera
(GaBi professional). The results reveal that the primary sources of greenhouse
gas emissions are the anode and cathode of the cell, along with the aluminum
casing. Additionally, thermal energy from natural gas plays significant roles as
major contributors in the production process but according to the report from
the battery module supplier the impact is deemed to be reliable.
3.2.4 Use phase
One of the stages in the vehicle’s life cycle with the greatest emissions is the
use phase, encompassing the vehicle’s entire operational lifespan and the
associated electricity usage. The climate impact within this category depends
on the origin of electricity production. Notably, for the different scenarios in
the use phase electricity sourced from wind power has the least environmen-
tal impact during the use phase, followed by electricity generated through the
European mix production.
46 47

← Figure 15 Considering the anticipated changes in electricity production—specifically,

the reduction in fossil fuel-based electricity and the concurrent increase in
Climate impact results in kg CO2-eq. per renewable electricity forecasted from 2024, it is expected that yearly emis-
year during the lifetime of 1 vehicle with
driving distance 200 000 km with different
sions will decline. The distances driven are then multiplied by the emission
electricity mixes during use phase. factors corresponding to each year, reflecting the changes in global and
European electricity. This process yields the graphical representation show-
cased in Figure 15. On average, the emissions throughout the entire lifespan
amount to 0.41 kg CO2-eq./kWh for the global electricity mix scenario and
0.18 kg CO2-eq./kWh for the European electricity mix scenario.
To be able to calculate the emissions in the use phase of the vehicle, the
well-to-wheel emissions from electricity production, are needed. During the
lifetime of the vehicle (15 years) it is expected to drive 200 000 km.
The energy-related emissions associated with the actual driving of the vehicle
consists of the environmental impact caused during production and distribu-
tion of the of the electricity used.
Electricity production is modelled according to three cases: regional (global
and EU28) grid mixes and a specific energy source (wind). Current and future
global and EU28 electricity generation mixes are based on the World Energy
Outlook 2022 Extended Dataset12 from IEA. Amounts of electricity from differ-
ent energy sources have in this study been paired with appropriate LCI data-
sets from Sphera Database (see Appendix 1) to determine the total climate
impacts from different electricity generation mixes, both direct (at the site of
electricity generation) and upstream.
3.3 Sensitivity analysis
Given the predominantly conservative nature of the data in this study, explor-
ing the climate impact of more probable data on the results is interesting.
← Figure 16 A sensitivity analysis was carried out to examine the climate impact of lifetime
driving distance, and the electricity source during the use phase.
Sensitivity analysis lifetime driving
distance per 1 vkm (functional unit) 3.3.1 Lifetime driving distance
for driving distance 150 000 km,
200 000 km and 250 000 km.
The current study assumes a lifetime distance driven of 200 000 km, as that
is a common distance to use in personal vehicle LCA studies. Larger personal
vehicles as the one studied here can, however, be argued to have a longer life-
time distance driven13. For that reason, a sensitivity analysis with a 250 000 km
lifetime distance driven was carried out. And to explore the effects of a shorter
lifetime distance driven, a sensitivity analysis of 150 000 km was also carried
out. Figure 16 presents the results for the cradle-to-grave for the different
driving distances together with different electricity scenarios.

12 https://www.iea.org/data-and-
statistics/data-product/world-energy-
outlook-2022-extended-dataset

13 https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-
detail/-/publication/1f494180-bc0e-11ea-
811c-01aa75ed71a1
48 49

3.3.2 Maintenance scenario

Lifetime affects maintenance of the vehicle and Table 11 describes the mainte-
nance for lifetimes included in the sensitivity analysis.

Table 11 →
Vehicle part Unit 150 000km 200 000km 250 000km
Parts changed during maintenance for
different driving distances of the vehicle. number of
Wiper blades 39 39 39
sets

number of
Tyres 12 16 24
items

Brake fluid liters 2 2 2

number of
Brake pads 16 24 32
items

number of
Brake discs 4 4 8
items

Lead, number of
3 3 3
battery 12 V items

number of
Steering joint 1 1 1
items

number of
Link arm 2 2 2
items

number of
Condenser 1 1 1
items

number of
AC fluid AC container 2 2 3
volume

number of
Cabin filter 9 12 15
items
 4
50 Life cycle assessment 51
—
Discussion and Conclusion

In conclusion the climate impact of the cradle-to-gate study reveals that 68%
is caused by to the materials utilised in the vehicle's production, aluminium
representing 24% of the emissions, and iron and steel contributing with 17%.
Following closely, the production of battery modules emerges as a significant
factor, constituting 24% of the cradle-to-gate impact.
The cradle-to-grave study reveals a total carbon footprint for the complete
LCA for the vehicle an emission of 44 tonnes CO2-eq. with global electricity
mix in the use phase. 38% of the total climate impact is caused by the mate-
rial production and refining, with aluminium representing 14% of the material
and refining emissions, and iron and steel contributing with 10% in the same
category. Following is the use phase contributing 37% of the vehicle’s total
climate impact, and then the battery modules, constituting 16% of the overall
climate impact.
The study categorises the environmental impact into five climate change
impact categories, as depicted in Figure 13. Fossil GHG emissions emerge as
the predominant contributor, accounting for 96.5% of the total climate impact.
Biogenic carbon emission comes on second place with 3.47% which is low in
comparison to the fossil emission.
Due to the use phase contributing such a large share of the emissions for the
lifetime of the vehicle the emissions connected to the electricity production
during this phase is of importance. One can see in Figure 12 that from the
different scenario’s renewable electricity production such as wind power
lowers the emission of the overall lifetime emission of the vehicle. The same
goes for European energy mix, however not contributing to the same extent.
This is due to the share of production being renewable sources is bigger in
those mixes.
When considering emissions linked to battery manufacturing, the emissions
might appear relatively low. However, in cell manufacturing 100% renewable
electricity is used. For the cathode and anode production 100% renewable
electricity will be implemented summer 2024. With electricity use in pro-
duction being one of the major contributors to emissions in battery module
production, this correlates to the presented result.
The results of sensitivity analysis for two different driven lifetime km scenar-
ios, 150 000 km and 250 000 km, demonstrate that the longer distance driven
by the vehicle over the lifetime the lower the emissions per km. This suggests
that whilst total emissions will be higher, on a per-kilometre basis, the envi-
ronmental footprint of the vehicle is lower when covering a longer lifetime
distance (i.e. fewer vehicles are required to provide the same utility in terms of
km driven). As it is strived for more sustainable transportation solutions, these
results emphasize the potential benefits of optimizing vehicle usage over its
entire lifespan for an eco-friendlier future.
The EU regulation14 regarding batteries and waste batteries from 2023 out-
lines the importance for future end of life handling of lithium-ion batteries. The
framework emphasizes various crucial elements such as recycled content,
collection rates, and end-of-life considerations.
14 REGULATION (EU) 2023/1542 OF
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTAND OF
THE COUNCIL of 12 July 2023 concerning
batteries and waste batteries, amending
Directive 2008/98/EC and Regulation
(EU) 2019/1020 and repealing Directive
2006/66/EC
52 53

The regulation places a strong emphasis on harmonising product and

marketing requirements across the life cycle of batteries. To enhance future
reports, environmental implications associated with the disposal and recy-
cling of batteries utilised in vehicles would be beneficial. This would give a
more comprehensive picture of the impacts and challenges linked to the end-
of-life management of batteries in the context of electric vehicles.
Environmental sustainability involves a multifaceted perspective. While the
focus of the study has been on carbon emissions following ISO 14 067, future
assessments should also aim to broaden the scope by incorporating other
significant environmental impact categories such as water consumption,
resource depletion, and ecosystem impacts. Expanding the analysis will yield
a more holistic evaluation of the vehicle's environmental performance, allow-
ing the possibility to make more informed decisions about its overall sustain-
ability. It could be also interesting involve alternative future energy scenarios
in addition to STEPS.
Material and refining is there for identified as one of the hot spots with total
climate impact of 38%, when using global energy mix in use phase. It is there
for recommended to further evaluate the possibility to lower these emissions.
 A1
54 Life cycle assessment 55
—
Appendix 1: Chosen datasets

In the LCA a large number of generic datasets from databases are used. In this
appendix the datasets used are listed, see Table 12. Some materials are listed
multiple times with different datasets. The reason is that the material carbon
footprint is modelled based on a mix of the different datasets corresponding
to the material composition.

Table 12 →
Material Location Dataset name Type Source
Chosen datasets for materials.
market for acrylonitrile-
ABS GLO agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
butadiene-styrene copolymer

IAI/Sphera professional
Aluminium CN aluminium ingot mix IAI 2015 agg
database

Sphera professional
Aramid DE aramide fiber (para-aramid) agg
database

Brake fluid GLO market for diethylene glycol agg ecoinvent 3.9.1

cast iron part (automotive) Sphera professional

Cast iron DE p-agg
– open energy inputs database

market for platinum group metal

Catalytic coating ZA agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
concentrate

Copper EU-28 copper Wire Mix (Europe 2015) agg DKI/ECI

copper mix Sphera professional

Copper alloys GLO agg
(99.999% from electrolysis) (65%) database

Copper alloys GLO market for zinc (35%) agg ecoinvent 3.9.1

market for textile,

Cotton GLO agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
woven cotton

Polymethylmethacrylate sheet
Damper RER agg PlasticsEurope
(PMMA) (60%)

Damper RoW market for lime (40%) agg ecoinvent 3.9.1

polyethylene production,
E/P GLO agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
low density, granulate

market for printed wiring board, surface

Electronics GLO agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
mounted, unspecified, Pb containing

ethylene Propylene Diene Elastomer Sphera professional

EPDM DE agg
(EPDM) database

Epoxy GLO market for epoxy resin, liquid agg ecoinvent 3.9.1

market for ethylene vinyl acetate

EVAC GLO agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
copolymer

Ferrite magnet GLO market for ferrite agg ecoinvent 3.9.1

Sphera professional
Float glass EU-28 float flat glass agg
database
 56 57

Material Location Dataset name Type Source Material Location Dataset name Type Source

cast iron part (automotive) Sphera professional Polyurethane RoW market for polyurethane, rigid foam agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
Friction DE agg
– open energy inputs (48%) database
POM EU-28 polyoxymethylene (POM) agg PlasticsEurope
Friction GLO market for zirconium oxide (12%) agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
PP GLO market for polypropylene, granulate agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
Friction GLO market for graphite (11%) agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
PS GLO market for polystyrene, general purpose agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
Friction GLO market for barium sulfide (10%) agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
polyvinyl butyral granulate (PVB) Sphera professional
Friction GLO market for barite (7%) agg ecoinvent 3.9.1 PVB DE agg
by-product ethyl acetate database

Friction GLO market for aluminium hydroxide (5%) agg ecoinvent 3.9.1 polyvinylchloride production,
PVC GLO agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
suspension polymerisation
Friction GLO market for magnesium oxide (4%) agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
Sphera professional
R-1234yf DE R-1234yf production (approximation) agg
database
Friction GLO market for expanded vermiculite (2%) agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
Sphera professional
Sphera professional SBR DE styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) mix agg
Friction EU-28 calcined petroleum (2%) agg database
database
silicone rubber Sphera professional
GF-fibre GLO market for glass fibre agg ecoinvent 3.9.1 Silicone rubber DE agg
(RTV-2, condensation) database

Glycol EU-28 ethylene glycol agg PlasticsEurope Steel, Sintered Asia steel hot dip galvanised (1%) agg worldsteel

Sphera professional Steel, Stainless,

Lead, battery DE lead (99.995%) agg EU-28 stainless steel cold rolled coil (304) p-agg Eurofer
database Austenitic

Sphera professional Steel, Stainless, Ferritic EU-28 stainless steel cold rolled coil (430) p-agg Eurofer
Lubricants EU-28 lubricants at refinery agg
database
Steel, Unalloyed Asia steel hot dip galvanised (99%) agg worldsteel
Sphera professional
Magnesium CN magnesium agg
database
Sphera professional
Sulphuric acid EU-28 sulphuric acid (96%) agg
database
market for permanent magnet,
NdFeB GLO agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
electric passenger car motor
polypropylene / Ethylene Propylene
Sphera professional
Thermoplastic elastomers DE Diene Elastomer Granulate (PP/EPDM, agg
Sphera professional database
NR DE natural rubber (NR) agg TPE-O) Mix
database
Thermoplastics GLO market for nylon 6 agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
PA GLO market for nylon 6 agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) Sphera professional
polybutylene Terephthalate Granulate Sphera professional Tyre DE agg
PBT DE agg mix (21%) database
(PBT) Mix database
Sphera professional
PC GLO market for polycarbonate agg ecoinvent 3.9.1 Tyre EU-28 water (deionised) (79%) agg
database

polyethylene production, low density, Undefined GLO market for nylon 6 agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
PE RoW agg ecoinvent 3.9.1
granulate
Ethanol (96%) (hydrogenation with Sphera professional
market for polyethylene terephthalate, Washer fluid DE agg
PET GLO agg ecoinvent 3.9.1 nitric acid) database
granulate, amorphous
Wood Laminated veneer lumber (EN15804 Sphera professional
PMMA RER polymethylmethacrylate sheet (PMMA) agg PlasticsEurope EU-28 agg
(paper, cellulose ...) A1-A3) database

Plastic granulate secondary Sphera professional Zinc GLO Special high-grade zinc p-agg IZA
Polymer, recycled EU-28 agg
(low metal contamination) database

Polyester GLO market for fibre, polyester agg ecoinvent 3.9.1

 58 59

← Table 13
Process Location Name Type Source
Chosen datasets for manufacturing
Aluminium processes.
DE aluminium die-cast part u-so ts
manufacturing

Aluminium aluminium sheet – open input

EU-28 p-agg ts
manufacturing aluminium rolling ingot
Material category Location Name of LCI dataset Year Type LCI database
Aluminium
DE aluminium sheet deep drawing u-so ts
manufacturing Use phase

Polymers (all categories) Plastic injection moulding part

DE u-so ts Electricity from Sphera professional
manufacturing (unspecific) Electricity from solar power RER 2019 agg
photovoltaic database
Stainless (all categories)
DE Steel sheet deep drawing (multi-level) u-so ts Electricity from wind Sphera professional
manufacturing Electricity from wind power RER 2019 agg
power database
vulcanisation of synthetic rubber Sphera professional
Tyre GLO u-so Electricity from Sphera professional
(without additives) database Electricity from geothermal RER 2019 agg
geothermal database

Electricity from hydro Sphera professional

Electricity from hydro power RER 2019 agg
power database

Electricity from biomass Sphera professional

Electricity Location Name Year Type Source Electricity from bioenergy RER 2019 agg
(solid) database

Electricity grid mix Sphera professional Electricity from nuclear Sphera professional
Electricity grid mix RER 2019 agg RER Electricity from nuclear 2019 agg
1kV-60kV database power database

Electricity grid mix Sphera professional Electricity from unabated Sphera professional
Chinese electricity grid mix CN 2019 agg RER Electricity from lignite 2019 agg
1kV-60kV database coal database

Thermal energy from natural CN Thermal energy Sphera professional Electricity from unabated Electricity from natural Sphera professional
CN 2019 agg RER 2019 agg
gas from natural gas database gas gas database

Sphera professional Electricity from heavy Sphera professional

Natural gas CN CN Natural gas mix 2019 agg Electricity from oil RER agg
database fuel oil (HFO) database

↑ Table 14 ↑ Table 15

Chosen datasets for energy and Chosen data sets for electricity
electricity for manufacturing. for use phase.
 A2
60 Life cycle assessment 61
—
Appendix 2: Complete list of IMDS
Material Library Material Categories

Table 16 →
Material name Material group
IMDS Material Library material categories.
Steel, sintered Steel and iron

Steel, unalloyed Steel and iron

Steel, stainless, austenitic Steel and iron

Steel, stainless, ferritic Steel and iron

Cast iron Steel and iron

Aluminium Aluminium

Low carbon aluminium Aluminium

Recycled aluminium Aluminium

Copper alloys Copper

Magnesium Other Metals

Zinc Other Metals

NdFeB Other Metals

ABS (filled) Polymers

ASA (filled) Polymers

E/P (filled) Polymers

EVAC (filled) Polymers

PA (filled) Polymers

PBT (filled) Polymers

PC (filled) Polymers

PC+ABS (filled) Polymers

PE (filled) Polymers

PET (filled) Polymers

PMMA (filled) Polymers

POM (filled) Polymers

 62 63

Material name Material group Material name Material group

PP (filled) Polymers Epoxy Polymers

PVB (filled) Polymers Polyurethane Polymers

PVC (filled) Polymers Damper Polymers

ABS (unfilled) Polymers Polyester Polymers

ASA (unfilled) Polymers Aramid Polymers

E/P (unfilled) Polymers Tyre Elastomer

EVAC (unfilled) Polymers Recycled Tyre Elastomer

PA (unfilled) Polymers Lubricants (matcat) Fluids & Undefined

PBT (unfilled) Polymers Brake fluid Fluids & Undefined

PC (unfilled) Polymers Catalytic coating Fluids & Undefined

PC+ABS (unfilled) Polymers Ceramic Fluids & Undefined

PE (unfilled) Polymers Damper Fluids & Undefined

PET (unfilled) Polymers Ferrite magnet Fluids & Undefined

PMMA (unfilled) Polymers Float glass Fluids & Undefined

POM (unfilled) Polymers Friction Fluids & Undefined

PP (unfilled) Polymers GF-Fibre Fluids & Undefined

PVB (unfilled) Polymers Glycol Fluids & Undefined

PVC (unfilled) Polymers Lead, battery Fluids & Undefined

Thermoplastics Polymers Sulphuric acid Fluids & Undefined

Thermoplastic elastomers Polymers Cotton Natural Materials

Elastomer Polymers Wood (paper, cellulose ...) Natural Materials

EPDM Polymers Washer fluid Fluids & Undefined

NR Polymers Undefined Fluids & Undefined

SBR Polymers R-1234yf Fluids & Undefined

Silicone rubber Polymers NR Natural Materials

 A3
64 Life cycle assessment 65
—
Appendix 3: Summary of data choices and
assumptions for component manufacturing

Table 17 →
Material Assumption Comment Material utilisation rate
on component in additional component
Summary of data choices and assumptions
manufacturing manufacturing
for component manufacturing.
Cast iron No extra manufacturing The chosen dataset already includes the
processes production of a finished part to be used in
automotive applications.

Fluids No extra manufacturing Assumed that fluids do not need further

processes refining after production of the raw material
(the fluid itself).

Tyres No extra manufacturing Assumed that the processes after

processes vulcanisation only has minor GHG-
emissions

Copper (wire) No extra manufacturing Assumed that processing after

processes manufacturing into copper wire has
negligible emissions and waste.

NdFeB magnets No extra manufacturing The chosen dataset already includes the
processes production of a finished magnet to be
used in electric motors for automotive
applications

Electronics (PCBs) No extra manufacturing The chosen dataset already includes the
processes production of a finished printed circuit
board.

Cast Aluminium Die-casting process 96%

Wrought Aluminium Rolling and Aluminium Assumed to represent different types of 62%
sheet deep drawing wrought processes.

Steel (in parts, Steel sheet deep drawing Sheet is assumed to adhere to the 63%
processed at suppliers) conservative approach.

Steel (stamped in a Steel scrap generated at The steel scrap generated at stamping Confidential
Volvo factory) Volvo Cars factories in the Volvo factories, that is the steel in
workstream “vehicle structures”

Stainless steel Steel sheet deep drawing Sheet is assumed to adhere to the 63%
conservative approach

Polymers Injection moulding Assumed to represent different types of 98%

process processes

Other materials Raw material weight x2 Emissions from raw material production 50%
has been multiplied by two, to compensate
for further refining and processing.
 A4
66 Life cycle assessment 67
—
Appendix 4: End-of-life assumptions
and method

Transport
Transportation of materials sent to material recycling is included and is con-
servatively assumed to be transported 100 km by truck.

Disassembly
The disassembly stage is, globally, still a mostly manual process. The energy
usage of this stage was therefore disregarded. As the weight of the disas-
sembled parts is low, potential additional transport of these components was
disregarded.

Pre-treatment
Pre-treatment was included for the following disassembled components:
– Lead acid battery
– Tyres
– Li-ion batteries
For the lead acid batteries and tyres, ecoinvent datasets were used for the
pre-treatment stage. The Li-ion battery is conservatively assumed to be
transported 1500 km by truck to the recycling facility according to Polestar
logistics specialist. For the remaining disassembled parts, no inventory was
made since their disassembly is mainly done as a safety precaution. After this
stage, they will be handled similarly to the rest of the vehicle. The fluids that are
incinerated likewise do not go through any pre-treatment.

Shredding
In the shredding process, the vehicles are milled to smaller fractions. This
process uses electricity. In order to estimate the amount of energy needed,
the energy usage per kg in the dataset “treatment of used glider”, passenger
car, shredding from ecoinvent 3.9.1 was used. The electricity used for this
process was modelled as a 2038 global electricity mix, based on the IEA
STEPS scenario and Sphera professional database data. Emissions of metals
to water and air have been omitted due to the focus on climate change. The
entire vehicle, except the parts sent for specific pre-treatment, is sent through
the shredding process. No additional transport is included, as shredding is
modelled as occurring at the same site as dismantling.

Material recycling
This is the fate of the flows of metals from the shredding, as well as for the
materials in the pretreated components. Based on the choice of cut-off
approach for end-of-life modelling, this stage is outside the boundaries of the
life cycle and is not included in the inventory, except for the transportation to
material recycling, as mentioned above.

Final disposal – incineration and landfill

The disassembled fluids as well as the combustible part of the shredder light
fraction, are modelled to be incinerated without energy recovery. The choice
to not include energy recovery relates to the global scope of the study.

To model the emissions from the combustion of material from the shredder,
a dataset for incineration of mixed plastics was used, based on the main
content of the flow going to this stage. The main part of the weight will be from
the plastics in the vehicle. The dataset chosen was a Sphera dataset of EU-28
incineration of mixed plastic.
68 69

Non-combustible materials, such as ceramics and glass, are a small part of

the vehicle but make up the part of the shredder light fraction that cannot
be combusted. This flow is either landfilled or recycled as filler material, in
both cases modelled with a dataset for landfilling of glass/inert matter, from
Sphera.

Transportation of materials which are separated in the shredding processes

and which are assumed to be recycled is conservatively estimated to be
100 km by truck.

Data collection
This section provides an overview of the data collection activities relating to
each life cycle stage, see Table 12.

According to the cut-off methodology, the processes presented below are

included in the data collection effort.

Table 18 →
Disassembly Pre-processing stage Final disposal
stage
Data collection activities.

Batteries Separated handling. Lead recovery According to

from lead acid and designated Li-ion material category*
battery dismantling

Tyres Pre-treatment for tyre recycling None (sent to

material recycling)

Liquids (coolants, Incineration

brake fluid etc)

Airbags and seat Disarming of explosives. Shredding According to

belt pretensioners material category*

Rest of vehicle Shredding According to

material category*

*M
 etals to material recycling, combustible materials to incineration (mainly plastics)
and residue to landfill
 A5
70 Life cycle assessment 71
—
Appendix 5: Data quality assessment

Table 19 lists the data quality indicators used to assess the data used in this
study. Each datapoint has received a score from 1 (best) to 5 (worst) according
to five different correlation aspects. Table 20 lists the scores for the data used
for materials production and refining in the study. Table 21 summarises the
findings.
For the temporal and geographical correlation, the scores vary widely. The
datasets from ecoinvent are generally more than 10 years old, while Sphera
professional database datasets tend to be less than three years old. The most
important reason why the geographical correlation varies widely is that the
origin of many materials is unknown. The origin of the materials that are used
in the largest quantity and with the largest overall climate impact, however,
score 1-2 on geographical coverage: aluminium, steel and battery modules.
Another material group with high climate impact is electronics. Electronics
scores poorly on both time, geographical and technological correlation, which
should be considered when interpreting the results. Overall, technological
correlation also has a large variation in scores, however, the majority of the
data has 2 as score. Representativeness and precision have good scores, as
the data is from databases or supplier specific.
Car manufacturing and logistics receive overall good scores as the data is
collected from own production facilities and controlled processes. The use
phase also scores well, as electricity usage data is based on vehicle specific
measurements, and climate impact calculations are based on fairly new
emission factors from the professional database (2021) and current and fore-
casted electricity mix data from IEA. The End-of-Life treatment receives fewer
good scores as data from the current state is used, and it is highly uncertain
how well it correlates to the conditions in 15 years. It is also highly uncertain
how the waste handling will be (and in some cases currently is) performed in
different markets.
Based on the comprehensive assessment of data quality, it is indicated that
the data quality requirements outlined in section 1.7 are met.
 72 73

Table 19 →
Aspect 1 2 3 4 5
Data quality indicator matrix used to
assess the data used in the study. Temporal Less than three Less than six years Less than 10 years Less than 15 years Age of data
correlation years of difference of difference of difference of difference unknown or more
(time related to year of study (dataset from (dataset from (dataset from than 15 years of
coverage) (dataset from 2017-2019) 2013-2016) 2008-2012) difference (dataset
2020-2023) age unknown or
before 2007)

Geographical Data from area of Average data from Data from area Data from spec- Data from area
correlation process origin larger area in which with similar pro- ified area used with very differ-
(it is likely that our area of process duction conditions for process in ent production
material comes origin is included (it is likely that our unknown area conditions (we
from this country (it is likely that our material comes (we don’t know know the material
and we are using material comes from this conti- where the material is produced in
a dataset from from this country nent/country and comes from, and China, but we use a
that country, e.g. and we are using a we are using a use a global data- dataset for Europe,
Al produced in dataset from that dataset for a conti- set, e.g. we don’t unknown produc-
China, and we use continent, e.g. Al nent/country with know where the tion location of
a dataset for China produced in China, similar production pla4stics comes plastic we use data
production) and we use a data- conditions (e.g. from and use a for production in
set for Asia) plastic produced global dataset) Germany)
in Europe, and we
use a dataset for
Germany)

Technolog- Data from enter- Data from pro- Data from pro- Data on related Data on related
ical corre- prises, processes cesses and mate- cesses and mate- processes or processes or mate-
lation and materials rials under study rials under study materials but same rials but different or
under study but from different but from different technology (using unknown technol-
(data from actual enterprise or group technology (use of data for ceramic ogy (we don’t know
site, for example of enterprises data for production glass to represent the global techno-
VCC data for (use of data for pro- of copper wire for production of logical match to
vehicle manufac- duction of alumin- production of all MICA) our EoL model, e.g.
turing) ium for production copper that is not recycling share etc)
of aluminium) copper alloy)

Represent- Representative Representative Representative Representative Representative-

ative data from sufficient data from a small data from sufficient data but from a ness unknown or
sample over an sample but for sample but from small sample and incomplete data
adequate period adequate periods shorter periods shorter periods or from a small sam-
to even out normal (only one out of two (primary data for incomplete data ple and/or shorter
fluctuations (this factories, but for only two months) from sufficient periods (mainte-
includes future full year) sample and peri- nance)
projection if neces- ods (maintenance)
sary) (using data for
VCC annual pro-
duction for vehicle
manufacturing,
generic data from a
database)

Precision Verified data based Verified data partly Non-verified data Qualified estimate Non-qualified
on measurements based on assump- partly based on (e.g. by industrial estimate
(primary data from tions or non-ver- assumptions expert) (share of recycled
our own sites but ified data based (share of cast and (maintenance, plastic split on
also generic data on measurements wrought alumin- where material different types of
from databases (battery supplier ium) comes from) plastic)
such as Sphera data)
and ecoinvent,
third party verified
data form supplier)
 74 75

Table 20 →
Correlation score
Quality assessment of data used for

Representative
materials and processes in the study.

Technological
Geographical
Temporal

Precision
Material/process Location Dataset name Year Source

ABS GLO market for acryloni- 2023 ecoinvent 3.9.1 1 4 2 1 1

trile-butadiene-
styrene copolymer

Aluminium CN aluminium ingot 2015 IAI/Sphera profes- 3 1 2 1 1

mix IAI 2015 sional database

Aluminium from CN 2022 Polestar’s own 1 1 1 1 2

hydropower investigations

Aramid DE aramide fiber 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 2 1 1

(para aramid) sional database

Battery modules CN 2022 Battery module 1 1 1 1 2

supplier

Brake fluid GLO market for 2023 Ecoinvent 3.9.1 1 4 2 1 1

diethylene glycol

Cast iron DE cast iron part 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 2 1 1

(automotive) - sional database
open energy inputs

Catalytic coating ZA market for platinum 2015 ecoinvent 3.9.1 3 5 2 1 1

group metal
concentrate

Copper EU-28 copper Wire Mix 2015 DKI/ECI 3 5 3 1 1

(Europe 2015)

Copper alloys GLO copper mix 2021 Sphera profes- 1 4 2 1 1

(99.999% from sional database
electrolysis)

Copper alloys GLO market for zinc 2011 ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 2 1 1

Copper alloys GLO tin 2021 Sphera profes- 1 4 2 1 1

sional database

Cotton GLO market for textile, 2011 ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 2 1 1

woven cotton

Damper RER Polymethylmeth- 2005 PlasticsEurope 5 5 2 1 1

acrylate sheet
(PMMA)

Damper RoW market for lime 2011 Ecoinvent 3.9.1 5 5 2 1 1

E/P GLO polyethylene 2011- ecoinvent 3.9.1 3 4 3 1 1

production, low 2016
density, granulate
 76 77

Correlation score Lead, battery DE lead (99.995%) 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 2 1 1

sional database

Representative
Leather CN 2022 Bridge of Weir 1 1 1 1 2

Technological
Geographical
Temporal

Precision
Material/process Location Dataset name Year Source Lubricants EU-28 lubricants at refinery 2018 Sphera profes- 2 5 2 1 1
sional database

Magnesium CN magnesium 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 2 1 1

Electronics GLO market for printed 2011 Ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 3 1 1 sional database
wiring board, surface
mounted, unspeci- NdFeB GLO market for perma- 1995- Ecoinvent 3.9.1 5 4 2 1 1
fied, Pb containing nent magnet, electric 2002
passenger car motor
EPDM DE ethylene Propylene 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 2 1 1
Diene Elastomer sional database NR DE natural rubber (NR) 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 2 1 1
(EPDM) sional database

Epoxy GLO market for epoxy 2011 ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 2 1 1 PA GLO market for nylon 6 2011 ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 2 1 1
resin, liquid

EVAC GLO market for 2011 Ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 2 1 1 PBT DE polybutylene 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 2 1 1
ethylene vinyl Terephthalate sional database
acetate copolymer Granulate (PBT) Mix

Ferrite magnet GLO market for ferrite 2011 ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 3 1 1 PC GLO market for 2011 ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 2 1 1
polycarbonate

Float glass EU-28 float flat glass 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 2 1 1 PE RoW polyethylene 2011- ecoinvent 3.9.1 3 5 2 1 1
sional database production, low 2016
density, granulate
Friction DE cast iron part 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 4 1 1
(automotive) - open sional database PET GLO market for polyeth- 2011 Ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 2 1 1
energy inputs ylene terephthalate,
granulate,
Friction GLO market for zirconium 2011 ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 4 1 1 amorphous
oxide
PMMA RER polymethylmeth- 2005 PlasticsEurope 5 5 2 1 1
Friction GLO market for graphite 2011 ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 4 1 1 acrylate sheet
(PMMA)
Friction GLO market for barium 2015- ecoinvent 3.9.1 1 4 4 1 1
sulfide 2020 Polymer, recycled EU-28 Plastic granulate 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 3 1 1
secondary sional database
(low metal
Friction GLO market for barite 2011 ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 4 1 1 contamination)

Friction GLO market for 2011 ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 4 1 1 Polyester GLO market for 2007- Ecoinvent 3.9.1 1 4 2 1 1
aluminium hydroxide fibre, polyester 2022

Friction GLO market for 2011 Ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 4 1 1 Polyurethane RoW market for polyure- 2011 Ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 5 2 1 1
magnesium oxide thane, rigid foam

Friction GLO market for expanded 2011 ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 4 1 1 POM EU-28 polyoxymethylene 2010 PlasticsEurope 4 5 2 1 1
vermiculite (POM)

Friction EU-28 calcined petroleum 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 4 1 1 PP GLO market for polypro- 2011 ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 2 1 1
sional database pylene, granulate

GF-fibre GLO market for glass fibre 2011 ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 2 1 1 PS GLO market for 2011 Ecoinvent 3.9.1 4 4 2 1 1
polystyrene,
general purpose
Glycol EU-28 ethylene glycol 2008 PlasticsEurope 4 5 2 1 1
 78 79

Correlation score Washer fluid DE Ethanol (96%) 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 3 1 1

(hydrogenation sional database
with nitric acid)

Representative
Technological
Geographical
Wood EU-28 Laminated veneer 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 3 1 1

Temporal

Precision
(paper, cellulose ...) lumber (EN15804 sional database
Material/process Location Dataset name Year Source A1-A3)

Zinc GLO Special high grade 2018 IZA 2 4 3 1 1

zinc
PVB DE polyvinyl butyral 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 2 1 1
granulate (PVB) sional database
by-product ethyl Aluminium DE aluminium die-cast 2021 ts 1 5 3 1 1
acetate manufacturing part

PVC GLO polyvinylchloride 2013- Ecoinvent 3.9.1 2 4 2 1 1 Aluminium EU-28 aluminium sheet – 2021 ts 1 5 3 1 1
production, suspen- 2018 manufacturing open input alumin-
sion polymerisation ium rolling ingot

R-1234yf DE R-1234yf production 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 3 1 1 Aluminium DE aluminium sheet 2021 ts 1 5 3 1 1
(approximation) sional database manufacturing deep drawing

SBR DE styrene-butadiene 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 2 1 1 Polymers (all DE Plastic injection 2021 ts 1 5 2 1 1
rubber (S-SBR) mix sional database categories) moulding part
manufacturing (unspecific)
Silicone rubber DE silicone rubber (RTV- 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 2 1 1
2, condensation) sional database Steel (all categories) DE Steel sheet deep 2021 ts 1 5 3 1 1
manufacturing drawing (multi-level)
Steel, Sintered Asia steel hot dip 2020 worldsteel 1 2 3 1 1
galvanised

Steel, Stainless, EU-28 stainless steel cold 2014 Eurofer 3 5 2 1 1

Austenitic rolled coil (304)
Data points Material production Car manufacturing, Use of vehicle End-of-life
Steel, Stainless, EU-28 stainless steel cold 2014 Eurofer 3 5 2 1 1 and refining inbound and treatment
Ferritic rolled coil (430) outbound logistics

Steel, Unalloyed Asia steel hot dip 2020 worldsteel 1 2 2 1 1 Temporal correlation
galvanised 1-5 1 1 3
(time related coverage)

Sulphuric acid EU-28 sulphuric acid (96%) 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 2 1 1

sional database Geographical correlation 1-5 1 2 3

Thermoplastic DE polypropylene / 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 3 1 1

elastomers Ethylene Propylene sional database Technological correlation 1-5 1 1 3
Diene Elastomer
Granulate (PP/
EPDM, TPE-O) Mix Representative 1 1-2 1-2 5

Thermoplastics GLO market for nylon 6 2011 Ecoinvent 3.9.1 1 4 3 1 1 Precision 1-2 2 2 4

Tyre DE styrene-butadiene 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 2 1 1

rubber (S-SBR) mix sional database ↑ Table 21
Tyre EU-28 water (deionised) 2021 Sphera profes- 1 5 2 1 1 Summarized quality assessment of data
sional database used in the study (based on matrix in table).
Tyre GLO vulcanisation of 2021 Sphera profes- 1 4 2 1 1
synthetic rubber sional database
(without additives)

Undefined GLO market for nylon 6 2011 ecoinvent 3.9.1 1 4 5 1 1

 A6
80 Life cycle assessment 81
—
Appendix 6: Characterisation factors

Table 22 →
Species GWP-100 Unit
Characterisation factors according to
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Carbon dioxide 1 CO2-eq
Change by the United Nations15.
Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) 273 CO2-eq

R 116 (hexafluoroethane) 12400 CO2-eq

Tetrafluoromethane 7380 CO2-eq

Sulphur hexafluoride 25200 CO2-eq

Methane 29 CO2-eq

Carbon dioxide, fossil 1 CO2-eq

R 23 (trifluoromethane) 14600 CO2-eq

R 113 (trichlorotrifluoroethane) 6520 CO2-eq

Carbon tetrachloride (tetrachloromethane) 2200 CO2-eq

R 22 (chlorodifluoromethane) 1960 CO2-eq

R 12 (dichlorodifluoromethane) 11200 CO2-eq

R 134a (tetrafluoroethane) 1530 CO2-eq

Ethane 0,437 CO2-eq

Halon (1301) 7200 CO2-eq

R 152a (difluoroethane) 164 CO2-eq

R 124 (chlorotetrafluoroethane) 597 CO2-eq

Trichloromethane (chloroform) 20,6 CO2-eq

Dichloromethane (methylene chloride) 11,2 CO2-eq

R 11 (trichlorofluoromethane) 5560 CO2-eq

Propane 0,02 CO2-eq

Methyl bromide 2,43 CO2-eq

Dichloroethane (ethylene dichloride) 1,3 CO2-eq

R 245fa (1,1,1,3,3-Pentafluoropropane) 962 CO2-eq

15 https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/
downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_ Halon (1211) 1930 CO2-eq
Chapter07.pdf
82 83

Species GWP-100 Unit

1,1,1-Trichloroethane 161 CO2-eq

R 125 (pentafluoroethane) 3740 CO2-eq

Butane (n-butane) 0,006 CO2-eq

Nitrogentriflouride 17400 CO2-eq

R 21 (Dichlorofluoromethane) 160 CO2-eq

R 141b (dichloro-1-fluoroethane) 860 CO2-eq

R 143 (trifluoroethane) 364 CO2-eq

Ethyl chloride 0,481 CO2-eq

R 32 (difluoromethane) 771 CO2-eq

R E245fa2 (2-(Difluoromethoxy)-1,1,1-trifluoroethane) 878 CO2-eq

Trichloroethene (isomers) 0,044 CO2-eq

R 142b (chlorodifluoroethane) 2300 CO2-eq

Tetrachloroethene (perchloroethylene) 6,34 CO2-eq

Chloromethane (methyl chloride) 5,54 CO2-eq

Perfluoropentane 9220 CO2-eq

Bromoform 0,25 CO2-eq

1,2-Dibromoethane 1,02 CO2-eq

R 143a (trifluoroethane) 5810 CO2-eq

 A7
84 Life cycle assessment 85
—
Appendix 7: Critical review

POLESTAR 3 LCA - INDEPENDENT CRITICAL REVIEW STATEMENT

Ricardo confirms that a critical review was performed of the following carbon footprint study of the Polestar 3.

Table 1: Details of Carbon Footprint Study

Aspect Details
Title of study Critical review of the carbon footprint assessment prepared by Polestar
to calculate the potential carbon footprint of the new electric Polestar 3.
Standard the study was Greenhouse gases - Carbon footprint of products - Requirements and
conducted to guidelines for quantification (ISO 14067:2018)
Commissioner of the LCA study Polestar
Practitioner of the LCA study AFRY Management Consulting
Version of report to which the Version 1.0 / 29th February 2024
critical review belongs
Assurance type Third party assurance via critical review panel based on UNI CEN ISO/TS
14071:2016 (ref. par. 4.2). Additional requirements and guideline to ISO
14044:2006), verifying the conformity of the carbon footprint study with the
requirement of ISO 14067:2018
All reviewers are employed by Ricardo-AEA Ltd and are independent of
the CFP study.

Critical review date March 2023 to March 2024

The review panel included:

Nikolas Hill – Nikolas is a Technical Director and the Head of Vehicle Technologies and Fuels in Ricardo’s
Sustainable Transport team of the Policy, Strategy and Economics (PSE) practice area. Nik has over 24 years
experience, in environmental analysis and is the lead on vehicle LCA for the sustainable transport team.
Marco Raugei – Marco is a Senior Consultant in Ricardo’s Sustainable Transport team on a part-time basis
as an LCA expert, while also retaining his role as Senior Research Fellow at Oxford Brookes University.
Kim Allbury – Kim is a Principle Consultant in the Ricardo’s LCA team and has over twenty years’ experience
in the field of life cycle assessment and has an in-depth understanding of relevant ISO standards and other
methodologies relating to LCA, (such as product category rules).

1.1 CONCLUSIONS
The independent critical review process focused on the Carbon Footprint assessment of the Polestar 3 vehicle.
it is considered that the critically reviewed CFP study, as documented:
• is substantially correct, representing, on the basis of the available data, a reasonable identification of
the potential GHG emissions and removals related to the product under study, within the limits of the
assumptions and limitations highlighted in the CFP study report;
• has been prepared in accordance with the principles and requirements of ISO I4067:2018 -
Greenhouse gases - Carbon footprint of products - Requirements and guidelines for quantification.
Full details on the Critical Review Statement can be found within the Critical Review Statement Report that is
available upon request from Polestar .

1.2 DISCLAIMER
Polestar retains sole liability for the content of the LCA study. Ricardo was commissioned to provide a critical
review of the LCA study for compliance with the methodical requirements, and to assess the adequacy,
correctness and consistency of information included in the study.

Ricardo  Issue 1  8th March 2024 Page | 1