The goal for LCAx is to make an open, machine- and human-readable data format for exchanging LCA results, EPD's, and assemblies.
We propose a simple four-level data format with information on project, assembly, and EPD level, written in an open data format and paired with a validator for a more robust and standardized format. We intend to create connections to existing tools and API’s.
Our goal is to make LCA calculations more accessible, transparent, and open.
Motivation
We are doing this because we see that many new LCA tools are seeing the light of day recently, but there is no open data exchange format between different software. This makes it hard to collaborate in interdisciplinary teams, as they all need to use the same platform for calculations if multiple people are working on the same calculation.
Furthermore, it makes it hard to quality assure an LCA calculation coming from another software than the one you or your company is using. Having an open data format will make it easier to check if an LCA calculation is compliant with the requirements for an individual project.
Importance of LCA Data Models
A well-defined LCA data model ensures consistency and comparability across different assessments, enabling researchers, businesses, and policymakers to make meaningful comparisons and draw reliable conclusions. Having a standardized data format for whole building LCA promotes consistency and comparability across different assessments, facilitating meaningful comparisons and informed decision-making. To foster collaboration and data sharing between parties in the LCA space, an emphasis on interoperability between existing formats must be placed. Additionally, having a flexible, yet robust, data structure, makes sure that, even with advancements in methodology, technology, and data availability, stored projects can continue to have relevance and address the evolving challenges and stakeholder needs.
Development of LCAx
The LCAx project was initiated by Christian Kongsgaard and Andreas Sørensen in the spring of 2023 and has since the beginning been developed as an open source project (Apache 2.0) by Christian Kongsgaard ApS. Besides the data structure, LCAx consists of converters, a validation engine, and a calculation engine. These parts of the project are not described here.