Featured in Distributed bliss – 06-2022

Data for circular solar

The increasing number of PV modules coming to end of life and being discarded is looming as a challenge to the industry. Researchers from the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) are tackling the issue with data – developing a prototype of an asset database to facilitate reuse and recycling activities. Roger Nyffenegger, Ässia Boukhatmi, and Stefan Grösser report on how the project could pave the way for a mind shift towards a data-based circular PV industry.

By

pv magazine

24 Jun 2022

Dean of the Division on Industrial Engineering and Management Science, at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, Stefan Groesser is one of the lead researchers on the data project. | Image: BFH

Forecasts for the expansion of the solar industry are both a cause for celebration and concern – particularly concerning waste, as modules come to end-of-life. IRENA forecasts that global installed capacity will grow from 840 GW by 2030 to 8,519 GW in 2050, an expansion which will require a greater awareness of their end-of-life management.To …

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