Potential contribution of module recycling to solar PV material demand under the Net Zero Scenario for selected materials, 2022-2050

Sources

Calculations based on IEA (2021a; 2021b).

Notes

Calculations take into account the historical evolution of material intensity in the different generations of solar PV modules put on the market since 1990 and assume further material intensity improvements of 10% over 2020-2050 for glass, 30% for silicon and 75% for silver. For the sake of simplicity, calculations assume a recovery rate of 85% for all materials. However, recovery rates above 90% for silver and up to 95% for silver and copper are considered achievable (Huang et al., 2017).