ELCD 3.2 Italian Electricity Mix is Outdated – How to Fix It?

Question

I am conducting an LCA analysis of the marble production supply chain using openLCA with the ELCD 3.2 database, where electricity consumption is exclusively linked to the machinery used in processing.

However, the Italian electricity mix in ELCD 3.2 is outdated, leading to significant discrepancies in kg CO₂ eq. compared to values calculated using data from the National Inventory Report. This is likely due to differences in the reference year and system boundaries.

Since ELCD is no longer updated, what would be the best way to integrate more recent data? Would it be advisable to manually create a customized electricity mix based on official national sources, such as ISPRA or Terna, to obtain more accurate results?

Answer 1

Hi, indeed the entire ELCD database is outdated. To fix the Italian grid mix specifically, indeed creatting a a mix based on official national sources is a good approach I think, but it does not "curate" the rest of the database. Since the database contains aggregated system processes, other processes, e.g. from Italy, will still contain the outdated mix that is now in the database, even if you make a new one and use it in your foreground system, and you will not be able to update the mix used in these.

Best wishes,

Andreas

Comments

I understand and you are not the only one..