Master Thesis: Integrating environmental life cycle information for future demands

What do you get?

You will be a part of a company doing the right thing because its right, that already today has a world-leading CO2 position and is doing its best to create a sustainable society.

Ovako is an employer for you who likes the smaller organizations efficient decisions and the larger organizations security. At Ovako you can expect an energetic and forward-leaning place of work, with open discussions, good camaraderie and great organizational drive. As an employee you get (among other things)

• A workplace with focus on employee health, safety and wellbeing
• Great personal responsibility and freedom to how you solve your tasks
• A culture that likes to be challenged and welcomes new ideas that improves
• Ability to work in a dynamic environment with engaged and experiences coworkers

Backgrund and purpose

Ovako’s purpose “Together we create steel for a decarbonized society” reflects that decarbonization is at heart and a key strategy for Ovako. In 2023, Ovako inaugurated its fossil-free hydrogen plant in Hofors, demonstrating how Ovako is converting its strategy into concrete actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The demand for low carbon footprint solutions is increasing, but so is the demand for transparent life cycle information on delivered products in customer relations. The need for accurate and transparent product environmental information is further enhanced by ongoing EU legislation such as the Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulations (ESPR) and its related Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology. Essential is hence to develop solutions to measure, map and communicate life cycle emissions at the product/article level in a transparent and efficient way, to customers, management, and other stakeholders. 

Research question and purpose

Ovako has for many years worked with applied Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in Environmental Product Declarations type III (EPD) and in its own integrated product carbon footprint (PCF) tool, enabling Ovako to seamlessly deliver PCF on article level to its customers. As the demand for product related environmental footprint information is continuously increasing due to customer demand and legislation, the proposed focus area for the thesis is to investigate how Ovako’s PCF-tool can be further developed to meet upcoming demand or requirements on product specific environmental life cycle information.

The aim is to define how Ovako’s product carbon footprint tool may be further developed with environmental life cycle information, taking into consideration both the short-term perspective (e.g. customer’s EPD-data requirements) and the estimated long-term demand of environmental life cycle information, e.g. Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) requirements within ESPR. In addition to outlining the theoretical framework and requirements of LCA-based applications such as EPD and PEF (current knowledge as the development is ongoing), the aim is to conduct a case study on how Ovako’s product carbon footprint tool could be populated with additional environmental footprint information. 

Your profile

Engineering with master’s program focused on sustainable product development, energy/environment engineering/management or similar. Courses within Life Cycle Assessment is meritorious.   

Information & other

Compensation

Ovako will compensate you for completed master thesis corrsponding to a value per "högskolepoäng". We can also in most cases assist with accomodation during the time you are performing your master thesis with us. Ovako will support with travel to and from our sites for interviews, eventual trips back to the university for meetings with supervisor and equivalent.

Recruitment

Selection will be ongoing and during the process you will get the chance to meet potential supervisors, relevant managers and stakeholder. The process will include ability tests, interviews, background check and references.