Life cycle assessment of photovoltaic manufacturing consortium (PVMC) copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) modules

End‐of‐life CIGS photovoltaic panel: A source of secondary indium and gallium

“…The remaining percentage, currently growing, is mainly represented by the second generation thin‐film panels, including the copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) applications . The strong interest for this technology is due to the high energy efficiency (18–22%), kept also at climate extreme conditions, contrary to the c‐Si PV, the long‐term stability of performance, and the low cost production . Furthermore, this kind of panel needs a low energy input because the thickness of active material (necessary for the conversion of sunlight into electricity) is about 100 times lower than conventional c‐Si modules .…”

“…Furthermore, this kind of panel needs a low energy input because the thickness of active material (necessary for the conversion of sunlight into electricity) is about 100 times lower than conventional c‐Si modules . The CIGS technology is a young technology, and the main producers of CIGS panels are USA, Japan, and China, and the most relevant companies include Solar Frontier, SoloPower System, Global Solar, Miasole, and Sunflare . Considering the average lifetime of the modules around 25 years, some studies estimates a quantity of end‐of‐life equipment that will reach the disposal sites of about 9.57 million tons .…”

“…Furthermore, a constantly growing of this technology market is expected with the consequent increase of both the raw material request and the production of waste, included in the category of “consumer equipment and PV panels” within the waste from electric and electronical equipment . More in detail, CIGS module consists of different layers including stainless steel or glass substrate, barrier layer, back metal contact, p‐type absorber, buffer layer (junction partner), and n‐type window, composed of different materials on the basis of the model and the brand . It is evident that the consequent waste shows high concentration of valuable components, often combined with hazardous materials, which makes the development of recycling strategies a requirement.…”

“…These elements, classified by Graedel (2011) as energy metals for their use in electricity application, are typical by‐product in the Zn, Pb (In), and Al (Ga) mining, included in the nature's flower of parent and daughter elements . Evidently, the extraction of these ores causes significant environmental load and Amarakoon et al highlighted relevant impacts in the categories of ecotoxicity, human health, eutrophication, and ozone depletion mainly connected with the principal extracted metals . In spite of the In and Ga relevance, the literature is still poor of optimized treatments and the overview of the global market reports percentage around 0 of these metals recycling in real applications .…”

“…2,3 The strong interest for this technology is due to the high energy efficiency (18-22%), kept also at climate extreme conditions, contrary to the c-Si PV, the long-term stability of performance, and the low cost production. [4][5][6][7][8] Furthermore, this kind of panel needs a low energy input because the thickness of active material (necessary for the conversion of sunlight into electricity) is about 100 times lower than conventional c-Si modules. 2,8,9 The CIGS technology is a young technology, and the main producers of CIGS panels are USA, Japan, and China, and the most relevant companies include Solar Frontier, SoloPower System, Global Solar, Miasole, and Sunflare.…”