{
  "abstract": "Public and private interest in life cycle assessment (LCA) has grown as environmental disclosure norms tighten, driving demand for decision-relevant assessment early in technological development cycles. Early-stage LCA has the potential to guide design choices, steer innovation, and mitigate lock-in of adverse environmental impacts. However, many aspects of early-stage LCA practice remain unsettled. We convened experts in a series of Faraday Discussion-style workshops to address recurring debates across six key topics for emerging technologies: appropriate use of LCA, uncertainty, comparison with incumbents, standardization, scale-up, and stakeholder engagement. For each issue, we present a declarative resolution, summarize key arguments for and against it, identify points of consensus, and provide recommendations. Across topics, the research network converged on practical priorities including framing studies to the decision context; setting minimum reporting expectations for data and study quality; and explicitly stating limits of transferability for scenario-based uncertainty assessment or analytically scaled-up projections. Disagreements persisted on when to formalize standards and how extensively uncertainty can/should be treated for low-maturity technologies. Supplementing the workshop findings with examples and context from relevant literature, we synthesize outcomes into a set of shared challenges and research priorities to strengthen transparent, evidence-based, and context-informed approaches for early-stage LCA.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Clean Energy Institute, University of Washington, 3946 W Stevens Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA",
    "National Laboratory of the Rockies, 15013 Denver W Pkwy, Golden, CO, 80401, USA",
    "Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark",
    "Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences, Clemson University, Brackett Hall, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA",
    "Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, 5215 Wean Hall, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA",
    "Carbon Direct, Pittsburgh, PA, USA",
    "Ramboll, 333 Bush Street, Suite 2500, San Francisco, CA, 94104, USA",
    "Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Helmholtzstraße 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany",
    "School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, 585 Purdue Mall, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA",
    "School of Sustainability Engineering & Environmental Engineering, Purdue University, 500 Central Drive, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA",
    "Aftan Engineering, 839 Alleghenyville Rd, Mohnton, PA, 19540, USA",
    "Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA",
    "Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, 35 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A4, Canada",
    "NETL Support Contractor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15236, USA",
    "National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, 15236, USA",
    "Department of Civil Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada",
    "National Laboratory of the Rockies, 930 D St. SW, Suite 930, Washington, DC, 20024, USA",
    "Build Neutral Inc., 850 11 Street Southwest, Calgary, AB, T2P 1P6, Canada",
    "Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 250 Nieuwland Hall, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA",
    "Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 16,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Rachel Woods‐Robinson",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5009-9510"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Amila Abeynayaka",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3998-2251"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Michael Carbajales‐Dale",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1568-384X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Hao Chen",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-1968-0038"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Anthony Cheng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Gregory Cooney",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5853-5102"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Abby Kirchofer"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Manish Kumar"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Heather P. H. Liddell",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6301-4173"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10,
        11
      ],
      "name": "Lisa Peterson"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        12
      ],
      "name": "I. Daniel Posen",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5093-140X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        13,
        14
      ],
      "name": "Sheikh Moniruzzaman Moni",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4105-0018"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        15
      ],
      "name": "Sylvia Sleep",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7036-9039"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        16
      ],
      "name": "Liz Wachs"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        17
      ],
      "name": "Shiva Zargar"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        18,
        19
      ],
      "name": "Joule A. Bergerson",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4736-3509"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9met5xcpf29a9.bib",
  "cited_by": 8,
  "doi": "10.1007/s44498-026-00100-5",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "9met5xcpf29a9",
  "issns": [
    "1088-1980",
    "1530-9290"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s44498-026-00100-5",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2305|Environmental Impact and Sustainability"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7172129319",
  "pdf_url": "https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s44498-026-00100-5.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-08-01",
  "publisher": "Wiley",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9met5xcpf29a9.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-07T13:21:02Z",
      "native_id": "W7172129319",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s44498-026-00100-5"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "openalex:2305|Environmental Impact and Sustainability",
      "subfield": "environmental-science"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Controversy and consensus: common ground and best practices for life cycle assessment of emerging technologies",
  "title_text": "Controversy and consensus: common ground and best practices for life cycle assessment of emerging technologies",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T13:21:20Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9met5xcpf29a9",
  "venue": "Journal of Industrial Ecology",
  "versions": []
}