Recycling PV Solar cells for a greener planet

Researchers at Cornell university said that designing a recycling strategy for a new, forthcoming generation of photovoltaic solar cells will add a stronger dose of environmental friendliness to a green industry.

The research that was recently published in Nature Sustainability shows “substantial benefits” to recycling perovskite solar panels.

"When perovskite solar panels reach the end of their useful life, how do we deal with this kind of electronic waste?" said Fenggi You, one of the authors of the paper and also a faculty fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, in a statement. "It is a new class of materials. By properly recycling it, we could potentially reduce its already low carbon footprint.

"As scientists design solar cells, they look at performance," You said. "They seek to know energy conversion efficiency and stability, and often neglect designing for recycling."

Perovskite photovoltaic wafers offer a quicker return on the initial energy investment than silicon-based solar panels. That is because all-perovskite solar cells consume less energy within the manufacturing process.

Therefore; recycling them improves their sustainability, as the recycled perovskite solar cells could bring 72.6 percent lower primary energy consumption and a 71.2 percent reduction in carbon footprint, said the researchers in the paper.