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Although the shift to renewable energy is essential to combat the climate crisis, the current linear economic model in the European photovoltaic (PV) industry creates increasing challenges related to resource depletion and growing waste streams at the PV module's end-of-life stage. However, the adaptation of circular practices to the different stages of the PV value chain (VC) is still in its infancy, and to date there is no clarity on the status of CE implementation in the European PV industry from a holistic perspective. Therefore, this study uses the results of twenty interviews with European PV VC representatives to shed light on the current goals, barriers, and enablers for the transition towards CE. The qualitative analysis of these findings serves as the foundation for developing a strategic map that identifies all aspects towards CE and their interrelationship along the different steps of the European PV industry, from material sourcing to recycling. These findings form the basis for the second outcome of our study, a "photovoltaic value chain framework" which theorizes four major strategies that are applicable to multiple VC stages, in particular (1) reinserting by-products, (2) digitizing the VC, (3) preparing PV modules for reuse, and (4) recycling and material recovery. This holistic approach requires cross-sector collaboration among stakeholders to ensure systematic change and more transparency in the VC. Therefore, future research should quantify these initial results and further explore viable business models to overcome the current economic barriers related to the intensification of the CE.
Nyffenegger et al. (Thu,) studied this question.