Sustainability outlook for leading silicon photovoltaic technologies from 2023–2034 in Europe
欧州における主要シリコン太陽光発電技術の2023～2034年の持続可能性展望 (AI 翻訳)
Bethany Willis, Oliver M Rigby, Sophie L. Pain, Nicholas E. Grant, John D. Murphy, Ruy Sebastian Bonilla, Neil S. Beattie
🤖 gxceed AI 要約
日本語
欧州の大規模太陽光発電展開を見据え、PERC、TOPCon、SHJの3つのシリコン技術のライフサイクルアセスメントを実施。SHJが最も環境影響が低く、TOPConが続く。気候変動への影響はPERC比でそれぞれ-12.1%、-9.9%。銀やエチレン酢酸ビニルの代替など材料革新の余地を特定。2034年までの技術進歩と電力ミックス変化を考慮すると、SHJとTOPConの影響は主要カテゴリで10%以上低減。欧州の展開シナリオでは排出量0.31～0.41 Gt CO2 eq.と推定。
English
This study conducts a life cycle assessment of three silicon photovoltaic technologies (PERC, TOPCon, SHJ) for European deployment. SHJ shows the lowest environmental impact, followed by TOPCon, with climate change impacts reduced by 12.1% and 9.9% respectively compared to PERC. Hotspot analysis identifies material substitution (silver, EVA) and process efficiency improvements as key research opportunities. Future scenarios to 2034 show >10% impact reduction for SHJ and TOPCon, with European deployment emissions estimated at 0.31–0.41 Gt CO2 eq. under different manufacturing scenarios.
Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.
📝 gxceed 編集解説 — Why this matters
日本のGX文脈において
欧州の太陽光技術LCAであり、日本のGX政策（例：太陽光導入拡大）に直接関連するが、日本の電力ミックスや製造条件は異なるため、結果の適用には注意が必要。ただし、材料革新やプロセス効率化の知見は日本の太陽光産業にも示唆を与える。
In the global GX context
This paper provides a rigorous LCA comparison of next-generation silicon PV technologies, directly relevant to global renewable energy transition and decarbonization of electricity grids. The findings support policy decisions (e.g., Net-Zero Industry Act) and technology roadmaps, offering insights for manufacturers and utilities worldwide.
👥 読者別の含意
🔬研究者:Provides comparative LCA data and hotspot analysis for PERC, TOPCon, and SHJ technologies, useful for further research on PV sustainability.
🏢実務担当者:Offers actionable insights on environmental impacts of PV technologies, aiding corporate sustainability teams in technology selection and supply chain decisions.
🏛政策担当者:Supports policy formulation for PV deployment and manufacturing, with scenario analysis under the Net-Zero Industry Act.
📄 Abstract（原文）
As Europe progresses toward a greener future, the years ahead bring expectations of widespread, large-scale photovoltaic (PV) deployment. Presently, mainstream silicon PV is transitioning away from the passivated emitter rear cell (PERC) architecture towards higher efficiency cell designs: tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) and silicon heterojunction (SHJ). With net-zero deadlines looming, there is an urgent need for comprehensive sustainability investigations into minimizing the environmental impact of large-scale actions before suffering avoidable consequences. Using life cycle assessment, these three silicon technologies are investigated and compared, finding SHJ to have the lowest global impact, closely followed by TOPCon. Both have lower impacts than PERC for 15 of 16 investigated environmental impact categories, including climate change (−9.9% and −12.1%, respectively), but increased metal use (+29.5% and +13.0%, respectively). A hotspot analysis identifies research opportunities for reducing environmental impacts such as material innovation through substituting silver (metallization) and ethylene vinyl acetate (encapsulant), or, more broadly, improving process efficiency and integrating more renewables into the electricity mix. The environmental impact is further evaluated to consider technological developments and evolving electricity mixes to the year 2034, showing the impacts of SHJ and TOPCon are reduced by >10% for all six identified high-value impact categories. These are then used to model European PV deployment between 2023 and 2034, considering various manufacturing scenarios, which show that this could result in climate change emissions of <0.41 Gt CO2 eq., though implementation of the Net-Zero Industry Act could reduce this to 0.31 Gt CO2 eq. Finally, sensitivity analysis is conducted to investigate uncertainty associated with modeling future impacts, comparing the 2024 and 2025 International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics. The sensitivity analysis results provide additional confidence in the findings of the initial comparison and support the conclusion that SHJ technology has, and will continue to have, the lowest environmental impact of the three investigated technologies.
🔗 Provenance — このレコードを発見したソース
- openalex https://doi.org/10.1051/epjpv/2026009/pdffirst seen 2026-05-05 19:13:30
gxceed は公開メタデータに基づく研究支援データセットです。要約・翻訳・解説は AI 支援で生成されています。 最終的な解釈・検証は利用者が原典資料に基づいて行うことを前提とします。