Integrating Life Cycle Analysis with Agent Based Modeling: Deciding on bio-electricity

In order to evaluate possible bio-electricity infrastructures that may develop subject to economic and ecological decision-making, an Agent Based Model (ABM) was created that uses Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to analyze the environmental impacts of the infrastructure systems that emerge. By representing processes as distinct instances of technologies, it is possible to have an infrastructure that self-assembles as each owner of any technology must trade with other owners of technologies to satisfy the individual input and output demands. The ABM is used to generate and simulate the complex bio-electricity system evolution, while an LCA is used to analyze it at each simulation tick by presenting the results of calculating life cycle environmental performance. Thereby, a methodology has been created that allows for a type of dynamic LCA, which provides ecological information for decision-making. Foundations, implementation and application of this new methodology for dynamic LCA will be addressed and themes for further research will be discussed.