Life cycle climate impacts of lithium battery–powered refrigerated containers: comparative assessment and sensitivity analysis

Decarbonizing temperature-controlled road freight is essential to sustainable food systems but complicated by the added energy demand of refrigeration. We perform a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) of 40—ft refrigerated containers comparing a diesel mechanical refrigerated container (MRC) with a battery-driven lithium refrigerated container (LRC). This study focuses on climate change impacts expressed as life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (CO₂-equivalent). Under a China grid baseline, life-cycle GHG emissions are effectively equal: 60.97 vs 61.04 g CO₂e/(t·km) for MRC and LRC, respectively—a marginal + 0.12% for LRC. Operation dominates (~ 95% of life-cycle GHGs), led by traction energy. Although electrifying the refrigeration unit lowers use-phase emissions, gains are offset by (i) the mass penalty of the battery pack, which raises traction energy, and (ii) upstream emissions from battery manufacturing on a carbon-intensive grid. Sensitivity analyses show LRC becomes favorable with cleaner electricity, lower-emission battery production and recycling, low-GWP/low-leakage refrigerants, and reduced empty running. Conversely, when grid carbon intensity is high, electrifying refrigeration alone yields negligible benefit. Larger near-term mitigation likely comes from electrifying vehicle drive, power-system decarbonization, and logistics optimization. Additionally, although the LRC entails a modestly higher upfront investment, its lower operational energy demand translates into improved life-cycle economic performance. These results provide a transparent baseline for comparing lithium-battery and mechanical refrigeration pathways and clarify the grid, mass, and refrigerant conditions under which refrigeration electrification delivers measurable GHG reductions. The future research could extend this framework by incorporating non-CO₂ climate forcers, air pollutant emissions, and broader material-related environmental impacts to enable a more comprehensive sustainability assessment.