(630a) Advances of a Global Life Cycle Inventory Database: The Chemical Sector in Ecoinvent

Background data and emission factors are essential in supporting sustainability assessments worldwide, which are data-intensive and rely on inventory data for processes, materials, and energy flows. The ecoinvent database, with extensive data across sectors, is a key resource for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) practitioners. It encompasses 20,000 unit process datasets, covering 3,500 products. In version 3,11 (2024), Europe makes up 37% of region-specific datasets, followed by the Americas (13%), Asia (10%), Africa (2%), and Oceania (1%). The rest are Global/Rest-of-World.

In this presentation, we highlight recent advancements in the ecoinvent database for the chemical sector, based on the 2023–2025 annual releases (versions 3.10 to 3.12). This includes data for important chemical building blocks such as synthesis gas, carbon monoxide, petrochemicals (olefins, aromatics, and methanol), among other key materials. The discussion will focus on efforts to expand geographical and technological coverage, alongside ongoing database maintenance, to support advancements in LCA.