ERI: CAS- Climate: Design for Recyclability: Perovskite Solar Technology for Sustainable Energy Future

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).

Perovskite solar photovoltaic (PV) cells have recently attracted worldwide attention, and there is great potential for them to enter the global PV market in the 2020s. Still, perovskite PVs stakeholders would benefit from knowing more about how to manage the waste from perovskite solar modules (PSM) sustainably. If PSMs are eventually sent and crushed in landfills, harmful compounds carrying heavy metals could leach into the environment.

Considering the current short lifespan of PSMs, society may face environmental problems due to the deployment of PSMs. This project aims to develop the tools for identifying design-for-recyclability (DfR) guidelines that may provide sustainable pathways for PSM and initiate long-term research avenues in sustainable end-of-life management (EoLM) of emerging technologies.

The project aims to integrate three objectives synergistically: (1) Identify economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable EoLM scenarios (reuse, repurpose, remanufacture, etc.) for PSMs; (2) Optimize circular EoL options for providing more environmentally friendly secondary materials than extracting primary materials; and (3) Foster environmental sustainability for solar industry stakeholders by developing enviro-economic models, creating decision support tools, and offering workshops.

The project has two principal foci. First, PSM architecture will be designed with recyclability principles. The focal point of DfR is producing valuable products from recycling.

This opportunity was missed for established PV technologies- e.g., for silicon PV, the typical outputs of the recycling process are low in economic value. Many PV recyclers do not want to accept waste PV or leave the EoLM cost to the end- users. However, it may be possible to open the glass-glass sandwich structures of PSM modules without crashing glass content.

As a result, PV recyclers could generate valuable products (coated float glass, flat glass, Au or Ag chunks) at the EoL, producing viable products that can be remanufactured and reused or repurposed in PV and other industries. Second, the PI will assess potential processes involved in EoLM using sustainability-based tradeoff analyses. This approach resides at the crossroads of the abatement cost concept from environmental economics and damage cost concept from sustainability engineering.

The PI aims to apply these concepts to construct an EoLM scenario that maximizes net social benefits (including private cost and benefits and abatement costs). Considering that PSMs are an important niche market for the solar energy industry, it is appropriate to formulate enviro-economic models to assess the EoL phase of PSMs and inform PV stakeholders regarding the pathways for environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable solar energy.

This project seeks to lead to environmentally sustainable and economically viable perovskite solar technology even in the EoL phase. The project team will work closely with US Manufacturing of Advanced Perovskite, leading American solar companies, and international not-for-profit associations of the energy industry. The project team will work closely with Rapid City’s Standing Committee for Sustainability, increasing awareness about environmentally friendly and feasible EoL management alternatives locally, and organizing events (e.g., Earth Week celebrations), developing outreach activities and screening documentaries, and holding public seminars.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.