The Sustainable Photovoltaics Group develops the next generation of solar technologies with a clear objective: making solar cells not only more efficient and affordable, but also more recyclable and more reliable in the field.
Photovoltaics is central to the global energy transition. As deployment scales to multiple terawatts, new challenges emerge. Solar modules must operate reliably for decades under harsh environmental conditions, while the materials used to manufacture them must be managed responsibly at end of life. Future photovoltaic systems cannot be designed for performance alone — they must be designed for circularity and longevity.
Our mission is to rethink photovoltaic technology from a systems perspective. We combine materials science, device physics, techno-economic modeling, and sustainability analysis to develop solar modules that:
By integrating reliability engineering and circular design principles, we aim to ensure that solar energy remains not only clean in operation, but sustainable across its entire lifecycle.
Recycling and Circular Design of Photovoltaics
We develop photovoltaic technologies that enable high-quality material recovery and true circularity. As solar deployment scales to multiple terawatts, material demand and end-of-life management become critical challenges. Current modules were not designed for closed-loop recycling, often leading to downcycling and loss of value. Our research focuses on cradle-to-cradle module architectures, design-for-disassembly strategies, and separable interfaces that allow efficient material recovery without compromising performance. By combining materials science, device engineering, and techno-economic modeling, we aim to enable photovoltaic systems in which materials can be reused in new modules without loss of quality.
We investigate the long-term stability of photovoltaic modules under real-world operating conditions. Solar modules face temperature fluctuations, humidity, UV radiation, and mechanical stress over decades, all of which drive degradation. Our work combines field data, accelerated aging, advanced characterization, and modeling to identify degradation mechanisms and improve lifetime prediction. The goal is to design photovoltaic systems with minimal performance loss and extended service lifetimes.
