Infrastructure life-cycle assessment depends on data that reaches far beyond the building-materials palette: structural and pavement materials, buried utility networks, power and rail systems, and the construction and maintenance processes that move earth and lay track. This article explains what generic data One Click LCA makes available for infrastructure projects, organised by the type of material, component and operation, and how that data is produced and bounded.
What do we mean by infrastructure generic data?
Generic datasets represent an average across a product category or process, calculated rather than measured for one specific product. They give a reliable proxy when a product-specific Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is not available, which, for infrastructure, is the common case rather than the exception.
Infrastructure work also widens what "generic data" has to cover. A building LCA leans heavily on cradle-to-gate (A1–A3) product data. A civil-works assessment under EN 17472 covers the whole life cycle, preliminary works (A0), product and construction stages (A1–A5), use-stage modules (B1–B8), end-of-life (C1–C4) and module D. That scope pulls in two data types buildings rarely emphasise: active process data (excavation, drilling, blasting, compaction, paving, on-track plant) and whole-system intensities (for example, a utility network expressed per m² of served floor area). One Click LCA's generic infrastructure data spans materials, manufactured components and these process and system datasets.
Why does infrastructure need its own data coverage?
Two reasons.
First, the data gap is sharper for infrastructure. The LCA literature consistently identifies insufficient EPD and PCR coverage as a primary barrier, with practitioners forced onto generic or proxy data to fill gaps, and with the use and end-of-life stages especially data-poor. One Click LCA's own 2026 Carbon Experts Report puts numbers on the supply side: while most specifiers now prefer materials with EPDs, only around a fifth of manufacturers have EPDs for more than half of their portfolio. For civil-engineering-specific items such as sleepers, catenary hardware, signalling cabinets, drainage culverts and on-track machinery, published EPDs are scarcer still.
Second, infrastructure assessments are process-heavy. On a road, rail or earthworks project, the emissions from running diesel and electric plant (A5, and again at C1 for demolition) can be material to the result. That requires activity-based process datasets, not just embodied-product factors.
What infrastructure data is available?
The sections below walk through the generic data available by category, with representative items. Where a single dataset name appears in many variants, that usually reflects strength classes, recycled-content levels, dimensions or regional scenarios modelled as separate datasets.
1. Concrete, cement and cementitious materials
The deepest part of the library. Coverage includes:
Ready-mix concrete across strength classes (from low-strength C12/15 up through high-strength), each modelled at multiple recycled-binder/SCM substitution levels (e.g. C30/37 with 10–55% recycled binders, GGBS-blended mixes).
Lightweight and special concretes: lightweight aggregate, cellular/foamed (aircrete), no-fines/pervious, fibre-reinforced and sprayed (shotcrete) concrete.
Precast and prestressed elements central to infrastructure: square, circular, octagonal and spun reinforced/prestressed piles; prestressed hollow-core and solid slabs; rectangular beams; segmental and balanced-cantilever box-girder segments; solid wall elements; precast oil/water separators and grease interceptors.
Masonry and blocks: autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) and concrete masonry units (CMU) in normal-weight, lightweight and expanded-clay variants, including insulated-fill types.
Cements and supplementary cementitious materials: Portland, blastfurnace, Portland-slag, Portland-fly-ash, pozzolanic, limestone and composite cements; plus GGBS, silica fume, fly ash, metakaolin, calcined clay and volcanic ash as standalone SCMs.
Admixtures and reinforcing fibres: PCE, SNF/PNS and lignosulfonate superplasticisers; steel, polypropylene, basalt, glass, flax, jute and kenaf fibres; basalt rebar.
Aggregates: crushed rock, gravel, sand, recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), LECA and expanded-glass aggregate, at relevant densities.
2. Reinforcement, structural steel and metal products
Reinforcement steel (rebar) modelled across the full recycled-content range (0% virgin through ~97% recycled), reflecting how strongly scrap input drives steel's footprint.
Structural steel: open profiles (I, H, U, L, T in S235/S275/S355), cold-rolled hollow sections (HSS), plate and closed sections, sheet pile, and rolled sections, each at several recycled-content levels.
Sheet and ancillary steel: hot-dip galvanized and profiled sheet, welded and galvanized reinforcement mesh, fixings (bolts, screws, nails, brackets, fixing plates), guardrail and chain-link/security products.
Rail steel: carbon-steel rail across many profiles (UIC60/54, 136RE/115RE, R65/R50, light-rail and tram grooved sections).
3. Aluminium, copper and other non-ferrous metals
Aluminium: cast slabs/billets and rolled sheet across the full recycled-content range; extruded profiles; façade cladding (powder-coated, anodised); busbar.
Copper: pipe, sheet, wire rod and the full catenary/contact-wire family used in electrified rail (copper, copper-silver, copper-magnesium, copper-tin, copper-cadmium).
Other: stainless-steel pipe, phosphor/bearing/aluminium bronzes, zinc cladding, cast iron and electrolytic iron.
4. Asphalt, bitumen and road pavements
Asphalt concrete by layer: base, binder and surface (wear) courses in both hot-mix and warm-mix variants, plus hot-rolled asphalt.
Thin surfacing course systems: asphalt concrete (AC) and stone mastic asphalt (SMA), hot and warm mix.
Binders and ancillaries: paving-grade and modified bitumen, tack coat, thermoplastic road-marking paint, granular-surface waterproofing, road salt for de-icing.
Pavement placement and removal are covered under machine operations and end-of-life (Sections 12–13).
5. Aggregates, soils and earthworks materials
Earthworks-relevant material states: gravel, sand and soil at dry/wet/loose/compacted densities; crushed-rock and rock/gravel mixes; non-cohesive and clay soils; recycled gravel; activated bentonite; and biochar for soil stabilisation. These pair with the earthmoving operations in Section 12.
6. Pipes, valves and utility networks
One of the broadest categories, reflecting buried water, drainage and sewerage infrastructure:
Plastic pipe for water supply/distribution and drainage/sewerage: PVC, HDPE, PE, PP, PEX and multilayer PE-AL-PE, across dimension ranges.
Metal pipe: steel, galvanized steel, stainless steel, copper and aluminium.
Network appurtenances: oil/water gravity separators (HDPE, GFRP, precast concrete), grease interceptors (stainless, precast concrete, HDPE, PP), double-wall storage tanks (steel, PE), valves (gate, globe, check, butterfly, brass, ball), water meters, and reverse-osmosis membrane modules and pressure vessels.
Whole-network intensities: drinking-water supply, sewage drainage and PEX/copper/composite distribution systems expressed per m² GIFA by building type, for rapid early-stage estimating.
7. Geosynthetics, fencing and site works
Geogrids (polypropylene, PET), woven and non-woven geotextiles (PP, PET), filter fabrics and needle-punched felts; chain-link, razor-wire and barbed-wire fencing (galvanized, stainless, polymer-coated); fixed and retractable bollards.
8. Insulation and membranes
Mineral wool (glass, stone, slag), EPS (white and graphite), XPS, PUR, PIR, cellular glass; bio-based options (sheep wool, hemp, cellulose, wood fibre, rice/wheat straw); pipe and elastomeric foam insulation; vapour-barrier and waterproofing membranes (PE, EPDM, modified bitumen). Relevant to district heating, buried services and tunnel/portal structures as well as buildings within the asset boundary.
9. Electrical power generation, transmission and distribution
The widest component count in the library, supporting power and electrified-transport infrastructure:
Cables and conductors: control, connecting, installation, power, building-installation, communication, fibre-optic, coaxial and telephone cables; medium- and high-voltage underground and single-core submarine cables; overhead-line ropes (AAC, ACSR, aluminium-clad steel).
Conduit and containment: galvanized-steel (EMT/IMC/RMC) and HDPE conduit; perforated cable tray, ladder and trunking.
Switching and protection: air, vacuum, moulded-case, miniature and gas-insulated circuit breakers; AC/DC contactors; air- and gas-insulated switchgear (AIS/GIS); ring main units; load-break switches; reclosers; fuses; disconnectors; surge arresters and SPDs; numerical protection relays (feeder, transformer, motor, generator, distance, differential, busbar); arc-fault and residual-current devices.
Transformation and conditioning: oil-immersed power, distribution and pad-mounted transformers; current and voltage instrument transformers; capacitors for reactive compensation; automatic voltage regulators; uninterruptible power supplies; DC power supplies and converters; soft starters and variable-frequency drives.
Transmission structures: single- and double-circuit lattice towers; utility poles (wood, galvanized steel, GFRP, precast concrete); composite line-post and tension insulators; tension clamps.
Control, metering and detection: RTUs and PLCs, I/O modules, energy meters, junction boxes, sockets/switches, motion/smoke/heat detectors, fire alarms, and a range of electronic components (PCBs, ICs, transistors, diodes, resistors, IGBT modules).
Lighting and storage: LED modules, drivers, luminaires and emergency lights; battery chemistries (LFP, NCM, NiCd, NiMH, lead-acid, alkaline).
10. HVAC, heating and MEP equipment
Boilers (electric, gas, biomass, diesel); heat pumps (air/air, air/water, ground- and water-source); heat exchangers (shell-and-tube, plate, finned-tube); chillers, fan-coil units, chilled beams; air-handling units across grades; HRV/ERV units and enthalpy wheels; ventilation ducting and fittings (galvanized steel, PVC); volume-control and fire dampers; fans; radiators; pumps and circulators; solar water heaters; district-heat distribution centres; and whole ventilation/heat-distribution systems per m² by building type.
11. Railway track and systems
Comprehensive coverage of fixed rail infrastructure:
Track: rail profiles (Section 2), concrete sleepers (monoblock, twin-block, Y-shaped, slab-track, turnout and specialty types) and timber sleepers (various species and treatments); turnouts and crossing frogs; elastic rail clips (e-clip, SKL, Nabla, Deenik), rail pads and fishplates/rail joints; ballast mats; guard rails; buffer stops and derailers.
Overhead contact system (OCS): contact and catenary wires, droppers, steady and registration arms, spring and counterweight tensioners, section and neutral insulators, feeder cables, return conductors and cross-span wires.
Signalling and control: relay and interlocking cabinets, track circuits, axle counters, LED signal heads, point machines, balises and transponders, level-crossing barriers/lights/bells, trackside junction boxes and antennas.
On-track maintenance machinery: covered as operational datasets in Section 12.
12. Machine operations and site processes
The activity-based datasets that distinguish infrastructure LCA, expressed per functional unit of work rather than per kg of product:
Earthworks: site clearing and flattening (per m² and per hour), soil removal (per hour), excavator and wheel-loader operation (per m³ moved), dumper-truck operation (per hour).
Geotechnical: pile driving (per m), drilling for cast-in-place piles (per m), rock drilling (per m), rock blasting (per m³), horizontal directional drilling (HDD, per m), tunnel-boring-machine operation (per m).
Pavement: asphalt paving (per m²), asphalt and soil compaction (per m²), tack coating with spreader (per m²).
Electrified-plant operations: battery-electric mini-excavators, loaders and compactors modelled per hour, with default, Norwegian and European electricity scenarios so the grid mix is explicit rather than hidden.
Rail plant: rail-grinding trains, ballast tampers, wheel lathes, rail-lifting jacks, ultrasonic testers, track trolleys and OHL-maintenance vehicles.
13. End-of-life, maintenance and land-use change processes
Beyond A1–A5, the library reaches into later modules:
End-of-life (C1): concrete demolition and asphalt-pavement removal (milling).
Maintenance and repair (B2/B3): flooring maintenance and steel-element repair datasets per m².
Land-use change: deforestation datasets by forest density, including variants that account for biogenic CO₂ sink loss and soil carbon sequestration loss over a 60-year horizon, relevant to linear corridors and greenfield sites.
14. Other materials and consumables
Coatings and fire protection (waterborne/solventborne paints, primers and varnishes; intumescent coatings; spray-applied fireproofing); refrigerants (R134a, R-152a, R-227ea, R-245fa and others) and hydraulic lubricant for use- and operation-stage modelling; civil blasting emulsion explosives; and process water.
How is this data produced, and what are its limits?
Generic infrastructure data is produced with the same two methods One Click LCA uses across its library:
Calculated average data statistically derived from third-party-verified EPDs for comparable products in a region, with outliers excluded.
Bottom-up modelled data, built like an EPD from a defined bill of materials and manufacturing processes, but using public sources (datasheets, technical literature and scientific LCA studies) and background LCI in place of primary factory data, then benchmarked against the wider database during internal review.
Three limitations matter for infrastructure and are worth stating explicitly:
Scope of modelled material data. Bottom-up modelled materials cover A1–A3 (cradle-to-gate). Transport (A4), installation (A5), use and end-of-life for those materials are added at project level, not carried in the material dataset. Civil-works assessments under EN 17472 require those later modules, so the process datasets in Sections 12–13 are what complete the picture.
Global-average, conservative materials. To remain usable worldwide, modelled generic materials assume average production technology and global energy inputs. They are deliberately conservative: expect a generic value to sit somewhat higher than a country- or product-specific EPD. Where local production differs materially (for example, a low-carbon national grid feeding electric-arc steel), a regional EPD or calculated average will be more representative.
Process datasets are activity- and scenario-dependent. Machine-operation datasets are functions of fuel consumption, load factor and duty cycle (the same activity-based logic underlying public nonroad-equipment and ecoinvent machine-operation data). Results scale with how plant is actually used on site, and electric-plant datasets are only as clean as the grid scenario selected. Treat the default scenario as a starting point and switch to the regional scenario where it exists.
Every dataset description documents the assumptions, included indicators and any exclusions, so these limits are visible at the point of use rather than buried.
Frequently asked questions
Why does an infrastructure dataset need so many process entries when a building LCA mostly uses materials?
Because the civil-works system boundary (EN 17472) gives more weight to the construction process stage and on-asset operations. Moving earth, sinking piles, boring tunnels, laying and milling asphalt, and maintaining track are emission sources in their own right, so they are modelled as activity-based processes rather than folded into a material factor.
Why are battery-electric plant datasets split by electricity scenario?
Because the footprint of an electric machine is dominated by the grid that charges it. Modelling default, Norwegian and European scenarios separately keeps that assumption explicit and prevents a low-carbon grid from being silently applied to a project on a high-carbon one.
Can I request generic data for an infrastructure item that isn't covered yet?
Yes. Requests are evaluated and prioritised against the needs of the global customer base and the availability of credible background data. Where you already hold specific data, it can be added to your company account as Private data via the user interface (Expert licence), and the Customer Success team can advise on commissioning new datasets where needed.