Funding entity: European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency
Type of participation: Principal investigator
Start-End date: 11/12/2023 - 11/06/2025
Total amount: 298.700 €

This comprehensive study is conducted by Viegand Maagøe, in collaboration with Universidad de Murcia and Centro Nacional de Energías Renovables (CENER). This study is developed in a comprehensive European policy context aiming to reduce the generation of waste, the consumption of resources and the associated environmental impacts of electric and electronic products, including PV modules and inverters:

• The Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) No 2012/19/EU
• The Circular Economy Action Plans (December 2015 and March 2020) (CEAP)
• The Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC) (ED) and the new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)
• The Energy Labelling Framework Regulation ((EU) 2017/1369) (EL)

Moreover, relevant standardization activities in this field have been carried out by standardization committee “CEN/CLC/TC 10 - Energy-related products - Material Efficiency Aspects for Ecodesign” with the publication of the EN 45555:2020 - General methods for assessing the recyclability and recoverability of energy related products. Potential policy application for these recyclability indexes for PV modules and inverters could include a compulsory disclosure of the indexes for each PV module model / inverter model placed on the EU market, as an effect of Ecodesign and/or energy labelling measures.

The study has the following two objectives:

• The analysis and development of scoring systems (indexes) for the recyclability of PV modules and inverters (the systems for each of the two products can differ).
• Calibration and validation of the scoring systems on real products.

The proposed methodology aims to create a recyclability index for PV modules and inverters, reflecting a significant stride towards enhancing sustainability in the photovoltaic industry.

We will encompass the identification of priority parts based on material relevance and recyclability, the determination of key parameters for recycling, the establishment of a scoring criteria, and the definition of recyclability score classes for photovoltaic modules and inverters, the calibration and validation of the method.

The JRC Reparability Scoring System method for Smartphone and Slate Tablets provides a relevant example for the preparation of product-specific indexes.

Funding entity: Viegand Maagøe A/S
Type of participation: Principal investigator
Start-End date: 05/02/2024 - 05/05/2024
Total amount: 6.109,5 €

This comprehensive modelling is conducted for Viegand Maagøe: The overarching contract is with Novo Nordisk as part of a framework agreement between Novo Nordisk and Viegand Maagøe. Consequential life cycle assessment of solar cells was performed in different locations around the world. Modelling the power production of solar cells in different locations around the world. Ad hoc assistance for assessing the sustainability of solar photovoltaic systems.

Funding entity: Joint Research Centre, European Commission
Type of participation: Principal investigator
Start-End date: 11/12/2023 - 12/04/2024
Total amount: 14.999 €

This report is aimed at enhancing understanding of the development of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for photovoltaic (PV) modules across Member States. Through meticulous analysis, we have uncovered a stark reality: collection levels for PV modules waste fall significantly below legal targets, largely due to the unrealistic nature of these targets, which are based on percentages of market quantities. The enduring lifespan of PV modules renders these targets unattainable, highlighting the urgent need for reassessment. Despite the challenges posed by limited data availability, our investigation delivers both exemplary and concerning practices in EPR implementation. From specific waste categorization to visible fee structures, we have identified strategies that foster responsible management of PV module waste. Conversely, issues such as inadequate infrastructure and lack of public awareness represent areas in need of urgent attention and improvement. Moving beyond the EU, we have also examined EPR systems in non-EU countries, providing valuable insights into global approaches to PV module waste management. By juxtaposing these international perspectives with those within the EU, we have gleaned valuable lessons and recommendations for policy and operational enhancements. In response to our findings, we have crafted a series of targeted recommendations designed to guide future action and policymaking. From reevaluating collection targets to enhancing transparency and awareness, our recommendations aim to drive meaningful progress towards a more effective and sustainable EPR framework for PV modules. Through collaboration and concerted effort, we have the opportunity to address the complexities of PV module waste management and pave the way for a greener, more resilient future.

Funding entity: Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
Type of participation: Research team
Start-End date: 11/12/2022 - 11/12/2024
Total amount: 163.098,00 €

The Ecological Transition towards a decarbonized electricity system, based on renewable energies, is urgently needed to achieve the so- called carbon neutrality and help mitigating climate change. But, at the same time, there is a need for the electricity production from renewable energies to be stable in time, or to follow the demand, without important fluctuations, one of the main limitations in the pathways towards low-carbon energy models. Minimizing the fluctuations in the production of renewable energies is nowadays a technical and scientific challenge under mitigation scenarios because most renewable energies, as far as they depend on weather and climate, present an inherent, uncontrollable intermittency or temporal variability. Among the renewable energies, wind and solar photovoltaic powers are of the highest interest with respect to the problem of minimizing the fluctuations of their production, because these two energies are important contributors to the electricity mix, and, at the same time, present a certain degree of spatio-temporal complementarity. In this sense, OPEN proposes methodologies involving an advance in the understanding and characterization of such complementarity and its optimization for the design of smart scenarios of installations, including the translation of this kind of research efforts into action-oriented information that should play a key role for the success of the upcoming decarbonizing deployment plans aimed to achieve carbon neutrality. This is of nuclear importance in the thematic area of Ecological Transition. Additionally, the implementation of decarbonization strategies/mitigation controls and environmental policies related to emission reduction induce substantial co-benefits for air pollution and associated health impacts. Hence, the OPEN proposal includes the assessment of the co-benefits on atmospheric pollution and human health when designing climate change mitigation pathways for improving the quality of life of people and of society as a whole, as well as the study of the economic impact and social acceptance of these strategies. Therefore, the multidisciplinary objective of the OPEN proposal focuses on increasing European scientific and technical excellence by contributing to an optimization of renewable energy facilities, and includes, from there, a better definition of the mitigation scenarios associated to the energy sector, as well as the characterization and quantification of the social (health and acceptance) and economic impact of mitigation strategies.

Funding entity: Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
Type of participation: Research team
Start-End date: 11/12/2022 - 11/12/2024
Total amount: 163.098,00 €

The project ION4PV is aimed at improving the performance of glass (“soda-lime-silica”, SLS) and plastic (“poly-ethylene-terephtalate”, PET) as cover materials for photovoltaic (PV) modules of commercial and emerging PV technologies. Although solar cells fabricated with semiconducting materials have been developed during the past 30 years and they are reaching high power conversion efficiencies already near its Sockley-Queisser efficiency limits for small size research cells at laboratory scale, the PV modules (size >1m2) are not so efficient. Part of the improvements in power conversion efficiency at module level may rise from the development of advanced functional encapsulants and glass or plastic covers which have been passive elements so far. Until now, the PV industry is using materials that are found in the market, but its fabrication is not targetted to PV applications. Recently, research is being focused on developing functional glasses and plastics that on the one hand will contribute to increase the power conversion efficiency by using smart light management technology and on the other hand will act as better encapsulants that prevents degradation and thus extending the operational lifetime of PV modules. Since the PV market has grown enormously in recent years, glass (SLS) and plastic (PET) industrial production oriented exclusively to supply the PV module manufacture value chain may become profitable despite the requirements in R&D investment and initial higher costs compared to conventional glass and PET.