Techno-economic and environmental sustainability of industrial-scale productions of perovskite solar cells

Eco-design for perovskite solar cells to address future waste challenges and recover valuable materials

“… Thickness, μm Layer Material Cost, USD/m 2 Weight, g/m 2 Typical device types (structures in Fig. 1 ) References 0.1 Back contact Au 110.77 1.9 n–i–p and p–i–n [ 6 ] Ag 1.03 1.31 n–i–p and p–i–n [ 31 ] 5–10 Carbon <0.3 12.8 n–i–p or HTL-free mesoporous [ [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] , [37] ] 0.1 Hole transport layer Spiro-OMeTAD 9.28 0.13 n–i–p [ 6 , 31 ] PEDOT.PSS 0.04 0.15 p–i–n 0.3–0.4 Light harvesting layer Metal Halide Perovskite* 1 0.47–1.24** All types [ 6 , 7 , 31 ] 0.025–0.25 Electron transport layer TiO 2 0.06 0.53 n–i–p and HTL-free mesoporous ...…”

“…For example, Spiro-OMeTAD ( Table 1 ) is an expensive compound, and it would be beneficial to reuse it, but the reported recycling methods employ toxicity solvents, which is less preferable for industrial scale, for example toluene [ 42 ]. Even though the trend is to replace the Spiro-OMeTAD, still the state-of-the-art perovskite have the component as giving the highest efficiency [ 43 , 44 ]. In contrast, some inorganic compounds are low cost and abundant, such as TiO 2 , SnO 2 or ZnO ( Table 1 ).…”

“…Typically, the recovering of elements is driven by recovery precious metals which help to reach high efficiency [ 43 , 44 ], but their large scale productions might be an issue. Thus, carbon electrodes have been investigated as a replacement for Ag and Au electrodes.…”

Local manufacturing of perovskite solar cells, a game-changer for low- and lower-middle income countries?

“…This section will discuss the environmental challenges for local manufacturing in LLMICs specifically; for a broader perspective of environmental challenges we direct the reader to more detailed life cycle assessments of PSCs found elsewhere. [76][77][78][79] Using local raw materials for the production of PSC modules can have large benefits for LLMICs, but also brings considerably environmental impacts. The mining and refining of tin (used in transparent conducting oxides and electron transporting materials for PSCs) was found to account for more than 50% of environmental factors such as acidification and human toxicity.…”

“…This section will discuss the environmental challenges for local manufacturing in LLMICs specifically; for a broader perspective of environmental challenges we direct the reader to more detailed life cycle assessments of PSCs found elsewhere. 76–79…”