Economically viable and environmentally beneficial recycling pathways for perovskite-silicon tandem modules

Perovskite–silicon (PVSK/Si) tandem modules are promising next-generation photovoltaics, yet their end-of-life management remains underexplored. We propose four recycling routes (2T-A, 2T-B, 4T-A, 4T-B) for two-terminal (2T) and four-terminal (4T) PVSK/Si tandem modules and assess their performance through techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). All routes are economically viable, with treatment costs of €3.4–5.4 per module and recovered material values of €7.5–8.5 per module. Labor is the dominant cost driver (∼60% of total cost). All four routes provide net environmental benefits, dominated by the impact category “Resource use, minerals and metals” (∼60%), followed by “Climate change” (∼12%). Flashlight-based delamination (2T-B, 4T-B) is generally more favorable than combinations of mechanical delamination and pyrolysis. Silver and aluminum are the most valuable recovered materials, while overall material recovery rates and the purity of recovered silicon are critical determinants of both net economic value and environmental performance.