Life Cycle Assessment
Life cycle assessment (LCA) accounts for all the inputs and outputs involved in creating and using a product or system, from raw materials to the end of its useful life, to estimate impacts on humans and ecosystems.
With an emphasis on additive manufacturing tools to reduce energy and waste, the Testbeds facility has helped 180+ companies fabricate, scale, and test sustainable technologies. By integrating an LCA service into the Testbeds, the facility offers a unique platform that connects hands-on R&D with iterative sustainability insights. Innovators can refine designs and assess impacts in parallel — and design for sustainability from the start.
Testbeds LCA services cover the full spectrum of climate tech R&D, from materials discovery to prototyping, scaling, and deploying new technologies. Assessments are tailored to your goals, desired depth, and budget.
Sign up for a free consultation with our expert staff scientist Dr. Rachel Woods-Robinson to:
- Gain insights into sustainability and economic trade-offs to guide iterative R&D
- Explore and scale up alternative solutions to minimize significant financial and environmental costs
- Develop sustainable practices from the start, when changes are easier and cheaper to implement
- Attract funders and investors with evidence-based data, while preparing early for sustainability reporting and emerging market incentives
The value of early-stage LCA
While LCA offers value at all stages of development, LCA is most often conducted once technologies are mature and implementing redesigns is more difficult. Assessing impacts early — during research, prototyping, and scale-up — provides flexibility to adjust materials and processes toward lower-impact, lower-cost pathways. Conducting LCA through the Testbeds, where state-of-the-art tools and staff expertise enable rapid, affordable material and process development, offers unique value to climate tech startups in the R&D, Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A stages.
Featured Project: Recovering Critical Minerals
Sunchem is a startup developing nanomaterials to separate heavy metals from waste streams. The company was founded to commercialize Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory research on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) — small molecules with highly porous properties — that are uniquely suitable for critical minerals recovery. Partnering with the Testbeds on LCA revealed a single step in their process as an environmental hot spot, guiding R&D toward a new method that cut projected greenhouse gas emissions by up to five times that of their initial process.
Standards & Certifications
Testbeds LCA analyses are conducted in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, the internationally recognized framework for LCA, to ensure methodological rigor and transparency. We use state-of-the-art life cycle inventory databases such as ecoinvent and can incorporate client-specific data and materials modeling as needed. For impact assessment, we can apply any appropriate established method (e.g., ReCiPe, TRACI), and can align with regional standards including the EU Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) as well as EN 15804 and EN 15978 where relevant. The level of detail and uncertainty treatment is tailored to the technology readiness and project goals.
While there is no universal certification of LCA outputs, Testbeds LCA studies can undergo independent third-party critical review or be developed into verified outputs such as Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). For more mature systems, we can also align results with product carbon footprint standards (e.g., ISO 14067, GHG Protocol), supporting Scope 3 estimation and broader ESG or sustainability reporting. Where sector-specific international guidelines exist (e.g., IEA PVPS for solar; ACLCA working group on LCA of emerging technologies), we follow these to ensure consistency with industry best practices.
Curious how LCA can support your work?
Learn more and sign up for a free consultation with our expert staff scientist by filling out the form below.