# End-of-Life Impact on the Cradle-to-Grave LCA of Light-Duty Commercial Vehicles in Europe
## 5 Conclusions  
The present study evaluates the cradle-to-grave LCA of the following powertrain configurations of LDCVs: DIE-ICEV, CNG-ICEV, and BEV. Two EoL scenarios were considered to differently handle the allocation of burdens and benefits between the connected product systems. The two EoL scenarios are based on two distinct allocation methods: CFF and avoided burden, and their scope is limited to the following stages: raw material acquisition and processing and EoL. Considering only the life cycle stages within the scope of the two allocation methods and GWP, when compared to the avoided burden method, the net impact of the CFF method is 19% greater for DIE-ICEV, 18% greater for CNG-ICEV, and 14% greater for BEV. Considering only the EoL stage and GWP, even though the burdens for the BEV configuration are greater than those of the conventional ones, in all the vehicle configurations and in all the EoL scenarios, the benefits due to the avoided virgin production of the materials outweigh the GWP burdens. Considering only the EoL stage and categories other than GWP, ozone layer depletion and cumulative energy demand showed particularly different results between the conventional and BEV configurations. In these two impact categories, the benefits due to Li-ion battery recycling do not outweigh the burdens, resulting in an increase in the impacts when the assessment is expanded to the entire vehicle. Considering only avoided burden and GWP, steel recycling significantly reduces the GWP impact in all the vehicle configurations. Platinum, palladium, and rhodium recycling significantly reduces the GWP impact of the conventional LDCVs, while Li-ion battery recycling significantly reduces the GWP impact of the electric LDCVs. Considering all the life cycle stages (cradle-to-grave) and all the categories, it should be highlighted that the role of the EoL stage in reducing GWP impact is not significant. On the contrary, when considering the other impact categories, the role of the EoL stage is not only relevant but is also fundamental for the success of circular economy strategies. In fact, the EoL stage reduces abiotic depletion by \(-\)59, \(-\)78, and \(-\)35% for DIE-ICEV, CNG-ICEV, and BEV, respectively. **Supplementary Materials:** The following supporting information can be downloaded at: [[https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app13031494/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app13031494/s1)]([https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app13031494/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app13031494/s1)), Table S1: Compositions of the ELVs; Table S2: Assumed fates; Table S3: Life Cycle Inventory of the three ELVs FoL scenario. **Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, A.A.; methodology, A.A.; methodology-use stage F.M. ; formal analysis, A.A., F.M. ; investigation, A.A., F.M. ; resources, A.A.; data curation, A.A.; writing--original draft preparation, A.A., F.M. ; software, A.A., F.M. ; writing--review and editing, G.D. and E.S. ; supervision, G.D. and E.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. **Funding:** This research received no external funding. **Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable. **Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable. **Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest. **Nomenclature**