Towards Sustainable Perovskite Solar Cells: Life Cycle Assessment of Recycling Strategies with Cost and Energy Considerations

Abstract

The rapid global adoption of photovoltaic (PV) technology highlights the critical need for sustainable end-of-life (EOL) management of solar panels. With installed PV capacity projected to reach 4,500 GW by 2050, the associated waste volume is expected to exceed 78 million tonnes, presenting an environmental challenge of unprecedented scale. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs), as an emerging technology, combine high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of up to 26% with cost-effective manufacturing processes, making them a key player in the next generation of PV technologies. However, concerns surrounding the environmental and safety aspects of PSCs—especially the presence of lead and hazardous solvents—necessitate urgent research into sustainable recycling solutions. (Vidal et al., 2021a). Selective dissolution has emerged as a promising method for reusing critical components such as glass substrates and electrodes, while a newly proposed mechanochemical approach shows potential for recycling encapsulated PSC devices with minimal performance loss. Despite these advancements, scalable recycling solutions for large-scale perovskite modules remain limited, highlighting a gap in the pathway to full circularity in the PV sector. (Vidal et al., 2021a). Life cycle assessment (LCA) provides a powerful tool for evaluating the environmental implications of PSC production, use, and recycling, offering insights into the feasibility of large-scale implementation. Experimental investigations into recycling routes, systems modeling, and life cycle analyses reveal critical challenges and opportunities for optimizing recycling strategies. A periodic module replacement strategy is proposed to enhance the sustainability of PSC systems while addressing performance degradation over time