For the first time, an energy converter has been subjected to a comprehensive carbon BRUSA CO2-footprint analysis. The power electronics specialist BRUSA HyPower is thus setting an industry-wide milestone in ecological product documentation. The results of the Scope 3 analysis, conducted by BRUSA together with Berlin-based startup CircularTree and Zurich-based Climate Tech Sustainaccount, provide information on the CO2 values of the new, bidirectional BDC6 energy converter. Product emissions data can also be better shared in the future within the supply chain and also across industries.
- Power electronics specialist BRUSA HyPower analyzes DC/DC converters for CO2 emissions for the first time
- Successful project with Berlin-based start-up CircularTree enables simplified exchange of emissions data
- Setting standards for the industry
- Transparency along the value chain
- Working together towards Net Zero
Benchmark set for the industry
With the analysis, BRUSA HyPower supports the implementation of its own decarbonization goals and those of its customers worldwide. “Our company is thus already well equipped to meet upcoming requirements of international vehicle manufacturers for standardized product carbon footprints,” says Dr. Holger Fink, CEO of BRUSA HyPower. He added that this also strengthens the company’s position as an innovation leader in the industry. “We have created transparency and set a benchmark for the industry with this systematized, end-to-end approach,” says Fink. “Electromobility, which we as a company have been helping to shape for almost 40 years, has now reached the center of society. We have now taken another step forward.”
Transparency along the value chain
The analysis of the product carbon footprint included the determination of the company’s own emissions on a product basis, as well as the analysis of the materials of all suppliers for this product. Scope 3 emissions are those greenhouse gases that are generated along the entire value chain. Compared to these emissions, the product’s own emissions account for only 1.2 percent of the total carbon footprint. This is achieved, among other things, through the use of the company’s own large photovoltaic system. The detailed product carbon footprint analysis of the 280 product components of the BRUSA HyPower energy converter BDC6 identified four components as the main contributors to the CO2 footprint. Furthermore, suppliers were analyzed according to their CO2 footprint. By breaking down the CO2 values on a product and supplier basis, the biggest levers for further reductions of the product carbon footprint were defined.
Together towards Net Zero
To calculate the emissions data, the team of specialists analyzed all standard and custom components of the BDC6 included in the bill of materials. Sustainaccount used its machine-learning supported process to obtain data from various Life Cycle Assessment databases for the components of the BDC6. The company’s own emissions, from electricity, mobility and heating of the buildings, were added as a supplement. The successfully completed project provides information on emission levels and also enables the future and interoperable exchange of emission data between BRUSA and customers and suppliers. “We are pleased to be shaping this innovative path towards Net Zero together with BRUSA HyPower. Our Product Carbon Footprint Management software CarbonBlock is ideally suited for this evaluation. It provides hotspot analysis, enables the exchange of emissions data across the supply chain, and meets the high standards of PACT – the Partnership for Carbon Transparency,” says Gunther Walden, CEO of CircularTree. The cooperation between the two companies is to be continued in future projects.
About Scope 3
Scope 3 emissions are greenhouse gas emissions that occur along the value chain. On average, 80 percent of all emissions from a product are indirect emissions from suppliers: these emissions occur during the production of raw materials, products and services purchased from suppliers. Measuring and reducing Scope 3 emissions are important tasks for companies committed to combating climate change and promoting sustainable development.