Das Projekt "Environmental and ecological life cycle inventories for present and future power systems in Europe (ECLIPSE)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Ambiente Italia S.R.L. durchgeführt. The current use of Life Cycle Inventories (LCI) for energy system modelling and planning is limited by two main factors: lack of harmonisation and transparency in the methodology used in LCA studies lack of updated public database on emerging technologies, in particular on new and decentralised renewable electricity generation systems. The general objective of the project is to overcome these limitations. More specifically the goal is to provide potential users with a coherent methodological framework, including application-dependent methodological guidelines and data format requirements related to the quantification of environmental impacts from new and decentralised power systems in Europe based on a life cycle approach, a harmonised set of public, coherent, transparent and updated LCI data on new and decentralised power systems, in a format which will make them comparable to existing data of other energy technologies, easily adaptable to local conditions and technological improvement and up-datable. Project results will increase the credibility, diffusion and exploitation of LCI as a support tool for energy-environment-economy modelling (like ExternE), energy planning as well as for other uses. The work is subdivided in four workpackages plus a general workpackage for the project management.