Decarbonizing ocean-going shipping requires decision-grade environmental evidence for propulsion transitions, yet conventional LCA relies on static inventories that inadequately represent dynamic operations and route-dependent renewable generation. This study evaluates well-to-wake (WtW) Global Warming Potential (GWP) for two large container ships operated by a Korean company under four scenarios: conventional diesel main engine, diesel–electric with onboard generator, full battery-electric supplied by shore electricity from the Republic of Korea grid, and battery-electric with a route-resolved solar PV system. A Live-LCA (LLCA) framework couples LCI data with MATLAB/Simulink power and propulsion modeling driven by actual operating profiles and route environmental conditions to generate operational inventories for impact calculation. Diesel–electric operation increases annual WtW GWP by over 26% for both ships versus the baseline of a conventional diesel main engine, whereas shore-electric battery operation is able to reduce WtW GWP by around 40% versus diesel–electric. With limited PV installation, additional reductions are marginal. Depending on electricity profile, it can increase battery-electric GHG emissions by approximately 27%, highlighting sensitivity to electricity evolution. Overall, electric propulsion delivers climate benefits only when paired with low-carbon electricity, and LLCA enables operationally and route-grounded LCA for large container ships.
Chybyung Park (Sat,) studied this question.