Life Cycle Assessment of a Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Module and Its Future Application in a PV Plant

This study presents a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a perovskite/silicon (PVSK/Si) tandem photovoltaic technology. The study evaluates the environmental impact considering an application in a hypothetical PV plant. This analysis uses laboratory-scale data projected onto industrial-scale conditions, with a focus on a theoretical utility-scale photovoltaic plant located in Italy. Three electrode configurations, Au, Au/ITO, and MoOx/ITO, are assessed to identify environmental hotspots and optimize material and energy use. Among these options, MoOx/ITO produces lower environmental impacts, especially in terms of climate change (4.54 g CO2-eq/cm2 compared with 5.54 g CO2-eq/cm2 generated by Au electrode cell) and resource consumption (PVSK cell with MoOx/ITO electrode: 3.23 × 10−f5 g Sb-eq/cm2, and PVSK cell with Au electrode: 5.24 × 10−5 g Sb-eq/cm2), due to the absence of gold use. The study finally compares environmental impacts of a photovoltaic system employing tandem-cell modules with those of a system based on heterojunction (HJT) modules, highlighting the advantages of higher efficiency and reduced land consumption at equal installed capacity, leading to a 25% reduction in impacts in the land-use category. These findings support the strategic development of tandem modules for future large-scale deployment in the photovoltaic energy sector.