A prospective ecological risk assessment of high-efficiency III–V/silicon tandem solar cells

Journal article

III–V/Silicon tandem solar cells offer one of the most promising avenues for high-efficiency, high-stability photovoltaics. However, a key concern is the potential environmental release of group III–V elements, especially arsenic. To inform long-term policies on the energy transition and energy security, we develop and implement a framework that fully integrates future PV demand scenarios with dynamic stock, emission, and fate models in a probabilistic ecological risk assessment. We examine three geographical scales: local (including a floating utility-scale PV and waste treatment), regional (city-wide), and continental (Europe). Our probabilistic assessment considers a wide range of possible values for over one hundred uncertain technical, environmental, and regulatory parameters. We find that III–V/silicon PV integration in energy grids at all scales presents low-to-negligible risks to soil and freshwater organisms. Risks are further abated if recycling of III–V materials is considered at the panels' end-of-life.Environmental BiologyIndustrial Ecolog

Authors: Blanco, CF; Quik, JTK; Hof, M; Fuortes, A; Behrens, P

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Journal: Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 540-554
• Publication date: 2024-03-20
• DOI: 10.1039/d3em00492a
• EISSN: 2050-7895
• ISSN: 2050-7887
• Language: English
• Keywords: Composite material; Silicon; Materials science; Tandem; Environmental science; Optoelectronics; Ecology; Biology