Dependence on Silver Could Hamper Terawatt Scale Solar Module Production: Report
Silver consumption level must be reduced to less than 2mg/W to enable a 3 TW market
September 30, 2021
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Researchers from the School of Photovoltaic Renewable Energy and Engineering (SPREE), University of New South Wales, estimate that the annual photovoltaic (PV) module production rate must increase from ~135 GW in 2020 to ~3 TW (terawatt) in 2030 to make any significant impact on climate change. However, a substantial obstacle on the pathway towards sustainable manufacturing at a multi-TW scale is the reliance of commercial PV production on scarce metals like silver, indium, and bismuth.