The surge in demand for solar panels and lithium-ion batteries will increase as countries look to move away from fossil fuels and implement more clean energy.
For this reason, the NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) emphasizes the importance of creating a robust circular economy for these technologies to mitigate demand for raw materials and reduce waste and environmental impacts.
According to the lab's researchers, circular economy strategies also have the potential to create clean energy jobs and address environmental issues.
These insights result from latest NREL analysis, based on more than 3 scientific publications that explore the life cycle of the most common technologies photovoltaic and lithium-ion batteries, including starting materials, environmental impacts and end-of-life options.
Access the full study: A critical review of the circular economy for lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic modules – status, challenges and opportunities
According to this study, alternatives to recycling may have untapped potential to build an effective circular economy for solar PV and battery technologies by reducing the use of virgin materials in manufacturing, reusing them in new applications and extending product lifespan.
The analysis also points out that these actions can provide new paths for building sustainable product life cycles.
“If you can keep it as a functional product for longer, it’s better than breaking it down to the elements that occur during recycling. And when a product reaches the end of its useful life, recycling isn’t the only option,” said Garvin Heath, senior environmental scientist and energy analyst and distinguished research staff member at NREL.
Heath also points out that the deconstruction process consumes more energy and generates more associated greenhouse gas emissions to then build another product, than keeping the first product in use for longer.
The scientist also highlights that recycling to recover the materials used in technologies is preferable to disposing of them in a landfill, “but if we can think about designing a product to use fewer materials to begin with, or less dangerous materials, that should be the first strategy”, he analyzes.
“People often summarize the product life cycle as 'take, make, waste,'” says Heath. “Recycling has received a lot of attention because it addresses the waste part, but there are ways to support a circular economy in part and in part too”, he concludes.
Heath and scientist Dwarakanath Ravikumar are the lead authors of the Air and Waste Management Association’s 52nd annual Critical Review, titled “A Critical Review of the Circular Economy for Lithium-Ion Batteries and Photovoltaic Modules – Status, Challenges and Opportunities.” His co-authors, also from NREL, are Brianna Hansen and Elaine Kupets.
Comments (1)
Comments are moderated before publication.Comments should be respectful and contribute to a healthy debate. Offensive comments may be removed. The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author. Canal Solar.
Okay, I loved your article, There is an application called: PCG Program, this program is an aggregator of classified sites, in the Software there are more than 340 classified sites where you can advertise for free, using this application you can promote your product automatically on these 340 sites. It's really worth using, there are many sites to advertise your product or service. I always use this program to promote. Here's the suggestion. Your article was very useful. Hugs to friends.