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Costa, D.; Martulli, A.; Oever, A. van den; Müller, A.; Degens, R.; Rajgolapan, N.; ... ; Vermang, B. (2025)

Life cycle assessment of novel two-terminal (2T) and four-terminal (4T) perovskite/CIGS solar cells

Article / Letter to editor
Perovskite solar cells are an emerging photovoltaic technology promising higher efficiency than monocrystalline silicon solar cells. This study assesses the environmental impacts of novel two-terminal (2T) and four-terminal (4T) perovskite/copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) tandem solar cells at technology readiness levels (TRL) 3 (2T configuration) and 4 (4T configuration). Based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, impacts are assessed from cradle to gate, focusing on climate change impacts per 1 m2 of solar cell, 1 kWp of module capacity, and the environmental 1 kWh of produced energy. Other relevant environmental impact categories, cumulative energy demand (CED) and energy payback time (EPBT), are also considered. The impacts of critical parameters are a sensitivity analysis. The LCA results indicate global warming impacts (GWI) of 49 and 50 kg CO2eq/m2, 170 and 174 kg CO2eq/kWp for the 2T and 4T configurations, respectively. For both configurations, the GWI ranges...Show morePerovskite solar cells are an emerging photovoltaic technology promising higher efficiency than monocrystalline silicon solar cells. This study assesses the environmental impacts of novel two-terminal (2T) and four-terminal (4T) perovskite/copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) tandem solar cells at technology readiness levels (TRL) 3 (2T configuration) and 4 (4T configuration). Based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, impacts are assessed from cradle to gate, focusing on climate change impacts per 1 m2 of solar cell, 1 kWp of module capacity, and the environmental 1 kWh of produced energy. Other relevant environmental impact categories, cumulative energy demand (CED) and energy payback time (EPBT), are also considered. The impacts of critical parameters are a sensitivity analysis. The LCA results indicate global warming impacts (GWI) of 49 and 50 kg CO2eq/m2, 170 and 174 kg CO2eq/kWp for the 2T and 4T configurations, respectively. For both configurations, the GWI ranges from 3.2 to 5.6 gCO2eq/kWh. Prospective investigated in climate change impact assessments suggest that manufacturing impacts may increase by 4% by 2050 without climate policies because of changes in the European energy mix. Conversely, stringent climate policies could reduce climate change impacts by 77%. The sensitivity analyses identify electricity use as the most critical factor for climate change impacts. CED values are 1219 and 1266 MJ/m2 for the 2T and 4T configurations, respectively. For impacts per energy output, the CED is 4231 and 4380 MJ/kWp for the 2T and 4T configurations, respectively. For both configurations, the CED ranges from 80 to 140 kJ/kWh. The average EPBT values are 0.74 and 0.76 years for the 2T and 4T configurations, respectively.Show less
All authors
Costa, D.; Martulli, A.; Oever, A. van den; Müller, A.; Degens, R.; Rajgolapan, N.; Paetzold, U.W.; Lizin, S.; Vermang, B.
Date
2025-09-18
Journal
Progress in Photovoltaics
Volume
33
Issue
11
Pages
1271 - 1289
DOI
doi:10.1002/pip.70008

Funding

Sponsorship
Horizon 2020(H2020)
Grant number
101036849