Life cycle assessment of a three-phase electrical machine in continuous operation

This study presents an analysis of the global environmental impacts of a three-phase machine operating in continuous service. The industrial production of electric motors requires raw materials, the suitable industrial tools for mass production and a transportation system able to bring each motor to its right place. During the use phase, the motor losses correspond to extra energy consumption and the corresponding environmental impacts for a given local electricity production system. End-of-life scenario corresponds also to extra pollution. During each phase, greenhouse gas and other pollutants specific to the manufacture of electrical machine are emitted. Therefore the improvement of the global quality of electrical machines needs a comprehensive analysis of the environmental impact. This study applies the life cycle assessment (LCA) procedure to the AC machines. The authors evaluate the environmental impacts for a standard 10 kW machine for all the phases of its life cycle (construction, use, end-of-life), and also propose several improvements, which are analysed.