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CO2 footprint for energy converters determined for the first time

For the first time, an energy converter has been subjected to a comprehensive carbon footprint analysis. The power electronics specialist BRUSA HyPower is thus setting an industry-wide milestone in ecological product documentation. The results of the Scope 3 analysis, conducted by BRUSA together with Berlin-based startup CircularTree and Zurich-based Climate Tech Sustainaccount, provide information on the CO2 values of the new, bidirectional BDC6 energy converter. Product emissions data can also be better shared in the future within the supply chain and also across industries.

Buchs SG/Berlin – 23.03.2023

  • Power electronics specialist BRUSA HyPower analyzes DC/DC converters for CO2 emissions for the first time
  • Successful project with Berlin-based start-up CircularTree enables simplified exchange of emissions data
  • Setting standards for the industry
  • Transparency along the value chain
  • Working together towards Net Zero
BRUSA HyPower's headquaters in Buchs SG / Montage Rendering BDC6. Original photos: BRUSA HyPower

The new, highly efficient and powerful BDC6 was developed for high-volume series production and is a key product of BRUSA HyPower for on-highway, off-highway and stationary applications in the electric mobility sector for international customers. Areas of application include trucks, low-emission work and agricultural machinery as well as ship and boat building.

Benchmark set for the industry

With the analysis, BRUSA HyPower supports the implementation of its own decarbonization goals and those of its customers worldwide. "Our company is thus already well equipped to meet upcoming requirements of international vehicle manufacturers for standardized product carbon footprints," says Dr Holger Fink, CEO of BRUSA HyPower. He added that this also strengthens the company's position as an innovation leader in the industry. "We have created transparency and set a benchmark for the industry with this systematized, end-to-end approach," says Fink. "Electromobility, which we as a company have been helping to shape for almost 40 years, has now reached the center of society. We have now taken another step forward."

Transparency along the value chain

The analysis of the product carbon footprint included the determination of the company's own emissions on a product basis, as well as the analysis of the materials of all suppliers for this product.

Scope 3 emissions are those greenhouse gases that are generated along the entire value chain. Compared to these emissions, the product's own emissions account for only 1.2 percent of the total carbon footprint. This is achieved, among other things, through the use of the company's own large photovoltaic system.

The detailed product carbon footprint analysis of the 280 product components of the BRUSA HyPower energy converter BDC6 identified four components as the main contributors to the CO2 footprint. Furthermore, suppliers were analyzed according to their CO2 footprint. By breaking down the CO2 values on a product and supplier basis, the biggest levers for further reductions of the product carbon footprint were defined.

Together towards Net Zero

To calculate the emissions data, the team of specialists analyzed all standard and custom components of the BDC6 included in the bill of materials. Sustainaccount used its machine-learning supported process to obtain data from various Life Cycle Assessment databases for the components of the BDC6. The company's own emissions, from electricity, mobility and heating of the buildings, were added as a supplement. The successfully completed project provides information on emission levels and also enables the future and interoperable exchange of emission data between BRUSA and customers and suppliers.

"We are pleased to be shaping this innovative path towards Net Zero together with BRUSA HyPower. Our Product Carbon Footprint Management software CarbonBlock is ideally suited for this evaluation. It provides hotspot analysis, enables the exchange of emissions data across the supply chain, and meets the high standards of PACT - the Partnership for Carbon Transparency," says Gunther Walden, CEO of CircularTree. The cooperation between the two companies is to be continued in future projects.

About Scope 3

Scope 3 emissions are greenhouse gas emissions that occur along the value chain. On average, 80 percent of all emissions from a product are indirect emissions from suppliers: these emissions occur during the production of raw materials, products and services purchased from suppliers. Measuring and reducing Scope 3 emissions are important tasks for companies committed to combating climate change and promoting sustainable development.

Lived principles of environmental policy

The principles of the BRUSA HyPower environmental policy

  1. We want to save resources and use them sparingly as well as keep harmful environmental effects as low as possible and ideally avoid them
  2. We develop products and manufacturing processes that are as environmentally friendly as possible and constantly strive for their environmental compatibility in a forward-looking assessment.
  3. The long life of our products is an essential part of the BRUSA philosophy. In this way, we make an active contribution to the economical use of resources and energy.
  4. The fulfillment of the valid environmental regulations is natural with BRUSA. The continuous improvement of operational environmental protection is a high priority for us.

"We consider it our duty to test, monitor, assess and avoid or minimize the impact of our products on the environment according to the technical and economic framework."

About BRUSA HyPower

BRUSA HyPower AG, based in Buchs (Swiss Canton St. Gallen), was founded in 2021 as a spin-off of BRUSA Elektronik AG, a leading supplier of power electronics in the e-mobility sector since 1985. BRUSA HyPower specializes in electrical energy conversion systems such as DC/DC converters (direct voltage converters) and onboard charging systems. The company develops power electronics products for on-highway, off-highway as well as stationary applications for its international customers. BRUSA HyPower employs around 300 people, mostly in Switzerland, and has sites in Stuttgart and in the Chinese industrial centers of Shenzhen, Huizhou and Suzhou.

About CircularTree

CircularTree was founded in Berlin in 2018 to actively reduce Scope 3 emissions as well as create data transparency along the entire value chain. As the global industry is in an enormous transformation phase, there is a clear market need for solutions that enable the standardized exchange and comparison of product carbon footprints. The CarbonBlock software platform systematically identifies and manages Scope 3 emissions and shares Product Carbon Footprints with customers and suppliers based on the WBCSD/PACT standard.
www.circulartree.com

About Sustainaccount

Sustainaccount focuses on the efficient and robust calculation of carbon footprints for products and services. The Zurich-based climate tech company automates the life cycle analysis, the most complex step in the life cycle assessment of products and services today. By linking data on purchased materials with manufacturing processes and sales activities, Sustainaccount connects product carbon footprints to company carbon footprints, which are incorporated into regulatory reporting standards such as the CSRD.
www.sustainaccount.com

Photos

  • BRUSA HyPower's headquarters in Buchs SG. Photo: BRUSA HyPower
  • BRUSA HyPower BDC6 (rendering): highly efficient and eco-friendly

Media Relations

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