Fronius GEN24 Plus –
A Benefit for the Environment
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
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Fronius GEN24 Plus – A Benefit for the Environment
© Fronius International GmbH
Version 02 01/2023
Business Unit Solar Energy / System Technology
Research & Development Technologies
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Fronius GEN24 Plus – A Benefit for the Environment
Table of Contents
1 Introduction: A Sustainable Dream .............................................................................. 4
1.1 Objective ..................................................................................................................... 6
1.2 Definition of a LCA ..................................................................................................... 6
1.2.1 What is a LCA? ..................................................................................................... 6
1.2.2 Why is a LCA useful? ........................................................................................... 6
1.2.3 The LCA in the European context ...................................................................... 8
2 LCA: The Quest for Environmental Data .................................................................. 9
2.1 LCA for the GEN24 Plus ............................................................................................. 9
2.2 Sourcing .................................................................................................................... 10
2.3 Production ................................................................................................................ 11
2.4 Use Phase ................................................................................................................. 11
2.5 End-of-life .................................................................................................................. 12
3 LCA: The Environmental Performance of the GEN24 Plus ................................... 13
3.1 The Carbon Footprint of the GEN24 Plus ............................................................... 13
3.2 Benefits of the Symo GEN24 10.0 Plus ................................................................... 19
3.3 Results of the LCA across different scenarios ....................................................... 20
4 Conclusion: The Step Beyond .................................................................................. 22
4.1 Use and Quality of the LCA ..................................................................................... 22
4.2 The Next Steps Forward: On the Way to Sustainability ........................................ 23
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Fronius GEN24 Plus – A Benefit for the Environment
1 Introduction: A Sustainable Dream
Over the past few decades, global warming has become one of the greatest challenges
that human societies face. Many consequences stem from this phenomenon, including
accentuated natural disasters, climate refugees, air pollution issues, and much more.
Furthermore, environmental damage is also associated with other major related issues,
such as biodiversity loss, natural resources crises, increased human health catastrophes,
etc. These threats challenge the balance of our societies and endanger the future of humanity. Many reports, which are continuously being published, describe the likelihood
or perception of such threats by human societies, such as analyses from the IPCC1 or the
World Economic Forum2.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to tackle these massive threats. Over the last few
years, several measures have been decided with ambitious plans to reduce the environmental footprint of our societies, products, and services as much as possible. Typically,
products and services should no longer follow the linear path “take-make-waste”, but
should have a circular design, for example, embodied in the Sustainable Development
Goal 12 from the United Nations: “Responsible consumption and production”. Further-
more, purely financial benefits can no longer be the sole criteria to consider; sustainability factors should also be taken into account.
In order to limit the devastating impacts of climate change, some important political institutions have implemented standards, laws, and strategies. To accompany this evolution and also to embrace its responsibility, Fronius has identified sustainability as one of
its core values. The Fronius vision “24 hours of Sun”, sees a future where 100% of the
world’s energy demand is covered by renewable sources. To realize this, Fronius is com-
mitted to developing sustainable and optimally designed products, taking into consideration all life cycle phases. To achieve this and enable future conscious decisions, a scientific and fact-based understanding of products’ sustainability performance is needed. A
Life Cycle Assessment is one of the most common and internationally standardized scientific methods to analyze the environmental influences of a product throughout its lifetime. In 2020, a new significant step was made with the completion of the first Fronius
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for one of its inverter generations, the Fronius GEN24 Plus.
1
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: https://www.ipcc.ch/reports/ (accessed 04/19/2021)
2
“The Global Risks Report” (2021): http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Global_Risks_Report_2021.pdf
(accessed 04/19/2021)
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Fronius GEN24 Plus – A Benefit for the Environment
Since Fronius uses the results of the life cycle assessment for the continuous optimization of product development, the actuality of this data is of particular relevance. For this
reason, updates of the life cycle assessment are carried out as required and when
needed. Since a high degree of transparency is required, especially when it comes to
sustainability, ongoing communication of these updates is also essential for Fronius.
Date of LCA updates
Updated content
February 2023
− More details due to more inten-
sive inclusion of primary data &
update of Ecoinvent datasets to
version 3.8
− New datasets of the carbon foot-
print of PV modules
− Deeper integration of night-time
power consumption
− Even more accurate method for
reference output of PV systems
(PVSol) in different countries/regions
− Hungary as additional country
− Modeling of transports analogous
to the latest life cycle assessment
(LCA Tauro).
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Fronius GEN24 Plus – A Benefit for the Environment
1.1 Objective
The objective of this paper is to present the concept of a Life Cycle Assessment, its application to the GEN24 Plus product family, and the most relevant results and interpretations. The paper aims to provide an overview of the most important LCA results without
going into all the calculations and details in too much depth.
1.2 Definition of a LCA
The following sections will define the LCA, the information that can be learned from it,
and its development and use in the European context.
1.2.1 What is a LCA?
A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a scientific methodology that has been in development
since the 1990s in order to conduct environmental analyses. The method consists of
modelling the environmental impacts of all the inputs and outputs (material, energy,
emission, resources, etc.) of a product (or a service) throughout its lifetime and aims to
provide a comprehensive picture of a product’s environmental performance. Two ISO
standards (14040 and 14044) support the framework’s structure, validity, and con-
sistency. To ensure a complete lifecycle perspective, Fronius and its LCA partner, Harald
Pilz from to4to3 (“Together for tomorrow”), adopted a “cradle-to-grave” approach in the
LCA, taking into account all lifecycle phases from sourcing through to production, usage
and the End-of-Life (EoL) including transportation (as presented in Figure 1). To further
increase and verify the quality of the Fronius LCA, a LCA review has been conducted in
collaboration with Fraunhofer IZM4 staff, one of the most renowned institutions for electronic product sustainability worldwide. As a result, this LCA provides a holistic, detailed
and peer reviewed analysis of the product’s environmental footprint.
1.2.2 Why is a LCA useful?
The LCA results obtained enable us to gain a deep understanding and knowledge of the
product’s strong environmental performance and potential limits.
The need for environmental product data continues to increase:
3
To4to - https://www.to4to.at/
4
Website: https://www.izm.fraunhofer.de/ (accessed 04/19/2021)
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Fronius GEN24 Plus – A Benefit for the Environment
− As Fronius aims to improve the sustainability performance of its existing and fu-
ture products even further, there is a need to scientifically prove, monitor, and
understand this evolution. LCAs are one of the few standardized and consistent
methods to model environmental impacts and are therefore a strong solution.
Using this evidence-based analysis, Fronius can play an active role in the implementation and fulfilment of the goals of “24 hours of Sun”. As a consequence,
more sustainable and efficient solutions can be developed, benefitting not only
the customer but also the environment.
For this reason, Fronius has launched the program “Sustainability by Design” to accelerate these actions. This LCA process was the first step in this program’s work.
Increasing awareness of and demand for evidence-based sustainable solutions can also
be observed in several PV-market requirements:
− The European Commission has developed and sought to promote environmen-
tal guidelines for products, based on life cycle analyses (known as the PEFCR:
“Product Environmental Footprint Category Rule”5). Furthermore, the European
Commission is fighting sustainability claims that lack evidence and will also prepare consumers for the transition towards a green future6.
− Recent PV tenders are prioritizing low carbon footprint products. For example, in
2021 CRE in France launched a new PV tender (700 MW) that requires modules
to have low environmental impacts7.
− Sustainability databases are being used more and more, where products that ex-
hibit environmentally friendly performance are promoted above others. Upcyclea8
in France or Byggvarubedömningen9 in Sweden are some examples.
− National authorities are also increasing pressures to substantiate sustainability
claims with, for example, the CMA (Competition & Markets Authority) in the United
Kingdom asking companies to consider the full life cycle of the product, the repair
index in France (“indice de réparabilité”) or the Supply Chain Act from Germany
(“Lieferkettengesetz”)10.
5
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/smgp/PEFCR_OEFSR_en.htm#final (accessed
04/12/2021)
6
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_269 (accessed 03/08/2022)
7
Source: https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/02/19/france-launches-700-mw-tender-for-large-scale-pv/
(accessed 04/19/2021)
8
Source: https://www.upcyclea.com/ (accessed 04/09/2021)
9
Source: https://byggvarubedomningen.se/ (accessed 04/09/2021)
10
Sources: CMA: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-claims-code-making-environmental-
claims/environmental-claims-on-goods-and-services (accessed on 03/08/2022), repair index:
https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/indice-reparabilite (accessed on 03/08/2022), and Supply Chain Act:
https://www.bmz.de/de/entwicklungspolitik/lieferkettengesetz (accessed on 03/08/2022)
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