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Why Life Cycle Assessment is not enough to assess the sustainability of your innovation in Horizon Europe projects 

Dieuwertje Schrijvers

Horizon Europe projects are a great opportunity to bring innovative ideas and early-stage technologies to a higher Technological Readiness Level (TRL). Whether these innovative ideas are also beneficial from an environmental point of view can be assessed via a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). However, a product’s environmental performance is, ideally, not established in isolation of its social and economic sustainability.

A growing importance of LCA in European projects 

The latest calls under the Horizon Europe funding programme reflect a growing focus on sustainability and environmental impacts within Research and Innovation Action projects. It is encouraging to see that the European Commission has recognised the importance of LCA in supporting the assessment and development of new technologies, as demonstrated by the consistent inclusion of LCA studies in calls for proposals and the central role of LCA in the recent Safe and Sustainable by Design framework.

LCA in a Horizon Europe project – The MOXY experience 

The MOXY project illustrates the power of a collaborative LCA approach to guide the development of an innovative device designed for cultural heritage conservation. This case demonstrates the practical application of LCA and eco-design principles, as well as the valuable insights they can provide, both for efficient product development and for protecting cultural heritage while minimising environmental impact.

What is the MOXY project?

MOXY, a Horizon Europe-funded project, stands for Green Atmospheric Plasma-Generated Monoatomic OXYgen Technology for the Restoration of Works of Art. The overall project goal is to develop a contactless cleaning technology based on atomic oxygen (AO). This method aims to remove contaminants like soot, grime, and organic compounds without using harsh chemicals or generating toxic waste. By achieving this, MOXY hopes to establish a new standard in sustainable and effective cultural heritage conservation.

Figure 1 Testing AO cleaning on paper soiled with fire born soot (Source: MOXY)
Figure 2 Operation of the Atomic Oxygen device for the cleaning of art. Image by Ghent University
Figure 3 Removing fire-born soot from feathers (Source: MOXY)

Le projet rassemble un groupe diversifié de partenaires possédant une expertise dans le développement des technologies plasma et électroniques, des chercheurs en conservation d’art, des musées, ainsi que le bureau spécialisé en ACV WeLOOP, en tant que leader d’un « work page » dédié à la durabilité. 

The role of environmental LCA in the MOXY project

LCA has a variety of functions that support the project's environmental sustainability aims. 

During the first project stage, a hotspot analysis provided a complete overview of the environmental impacts of the novel cleaning device. The hotspot analysis was enabled by interactions with the technology experts to collect primary data.

Secondly, eco-design workshops were organized to initiate discussions among the diverse project partners. Partners were challenged to formulate possible technological, environmental, social, and economic concerns throughout the device's life cycle. This exercise helped create a “sustainability mindset” among the partners, enhancing their capacity to interpret the results of the LCA hotspot analysis and to raise social and economic concerns, for example, related to inclusiveness. The timing of the workshop, following the hotspot analysis, motivated all stakeholders to prioritize sustainability aspects and to contribute to data collection in the subsequent LCA phases. Technology experts responded promptly to the hotspot analysis results by adapting the product design to reduce environmental impacts.

The interdependency of environmental, social, and economic factors

The hotspot analysis and the eco-design workshops highlighted that environmental sustainability cannot be considered in isolation from social and economic factors. The environmental performance of the AO device is highly dependent on the lifetimes of its components and the frequency of use during its lifetime. The lifetime is, in turn, strongly influenced by user behavior, such as proper device handling and the willingness to repair components when they fail. Therefore, the project partners identified developing a user manual, outlining actions that support the sustainable use of the device as a key action during the workshop. The use frequency is related to the selected business model, such as purchasing or leasing. Leasing will make the device even more economically accessible to smaller players in the conservation business, increasing the inclusiveness of adopting this innovative technology.

What does the user want? 

A comparative LCA examined the environmental impacts of the AO technology relative to established cleaning techniques in the cultural heritage domain. Although the AO device demonstrated better environmental performance than several alternative cleaning techniques, the final decision regarding which cleaning method to use rests with the art conservator. This choice is complex and is always done on a case-by-case basis.

The environmental performance of a cleaning method is only one among a wide range of criteria that can be considered here, which include the cleaning performance, costs of cleaning, time spent, the worker’s exposure to toxic substances and ergonomic performance. The perspective of the art conservator, alongside other relevant stakeholders (think about the owner of the art, the displaying organisations, including museums, and the local community) were assessed via a Social Life Cycle Assessment.

Including this social dimension also allowed us to consider that the AO device enables cleaning of artwork for which no alternative cleaning technique was yet feasible. Cleaning art using the AO device, compared to not cleaning the art at all, may not be environmentally favorable, but the social benefits of restoring art and displaying it to the local community are invaluable.

Figure 4 The interdependency of environmental, social, and economic aspects

Ensuring current and future economic sustainability 

We already mentioned the relevance of the chosen business model to some environmentally relevant parameters, such as the use frequency. The business model also affects user costs, which, in turn, will influence whether the AO device is considered a cleaning option by art conservators. Via a Life Cycle Costing study, we compared the economic attractiveness of the AO device with alternative cleaning methods. Furthermore, we assessed the main contributors to costs, in which we considered different device configurations and business models.

As in the environmental hotspot analysis, the use phase is the largest contributor to costs, owing to the consumption of helium gas during AO device operation. In addition to being a major contributor to costs and environmental impacts, helium is also associated with potential supply disruptions and is considered a critical raw material on the 2023 EU list of Critical Raw Materials. This means that, throughout the lifetime of the AO device, access to helium gas may be disrupted, or its price may fluctuate significantly. By combining Life Cycle Costing with a raw material criticality assessment, both the current and future economic sustainability of the AO device were assessed.

Successful integration of LCA into future Horizon Europe projects

The MOXY project serves as a compelling case illustrating the benefits of a collaborative approach to LCA in Horizon Europe projects. From our experience with MOXY, as well as with other Horizon Europe projects, such as Bio4Human and BIOARC, several recommendations can be made for a successful integration of LCA into future Horizon Europe projects:

  • Establish a dedicated Work Package for sustainability and ensure that all partners allocate time to it. Organize regular meetings with stakeholders to test methodological choices, such as the formulation of the functional unit, to real-world constraints.
  • Structure the LCA in phases. Begin with a hotspot analysis to identify key environmental impacts. Organize eco-design workshops to brainstorm about solutions and create sustainability awareness early on. Finally, conduct a comparative LCA to assess the environmental performance of the developed technology compared to existing alternatives.
  • Expand the scope beyond environmental considerations, as social and economic challenges may annihilate theoretical environmental gains.

By following these recommendations and fostering a collaborative spirit, future projects can better leverage the potential of LCA to achieve sustainable solutions within public (but also private!) R&D projects. Horizon Europe projects are uniquely designed to ensure that innovative ideas are adopted in the relevant industrial ecosystems, supported by a strong focus on stakeholder engagement throughout project runtimes. This stakeholder engagement provides an ideal working environment to assess not only the environmental, but also the social and economic sustainability of technological innovations. After all, environmental performance without social and economic value isn’t sustainability – it’s wishful thinking.