Material constraints for thin-film solar cells

Andersson, Björn; Azar, Christian; Holmberg, John; Karlsson, Sten

doi:10.1016/s0360-5442(97)00102-3

Cited by 96 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Rising global demand for energy and materials will also increase our impact on water resources, a trend exacerbated by these facts: that mining activities are increasingly taking place in water scarce regions, that climate change presents further challenges in terms of water scarcity, and that globally declining ore grades for many major commodities are likely to increase water demands for most future mines [18]. Meeting the growing demand for commodities will of course also bring additional demand for energy used in extraction, processing and transport, while, it is additionally evident that, material constraints could have an impact on the sustained growth of the renewable energy sector [19][20][21].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anaerobic Digestion in the Nexus of Energy, Water and Food

Voulvoulis¹

2015

JEPE

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Conventional waste management practices focusing principally on waste collection, treatment and disposal or even minimisation often prove insufficient to address resource management challenges in a sustainable manner. Taking into account the relationship between water provision, energy security and resource efficiency, a systems approach that delivers a strong information basis and provides opportunities for resource use optimisation at various levels of application provides opportunities for synergies that could deliver real benefits when cross-sectoral solutions are applied. By-products from sewage treatment in combination with organic solid waste such as food waste can provide a valuable source of energy if managed properly and utilised effectively. This way, waste can be seen as a raw material than can be turned into a resource rather than simply be discarded. As such, AD (anaerobic digestion), the co-digestion of food waste with sewage sludge, could become a strategic and cross-sectoral solution, if carefully applied, with the potential to convey beneficial synergies for the water and the waste industries. However, barriers to the development of such systems are diverse and often interlinked. Institutional frameworks, decision making constraints, and regulatory boundaries might still appear to require an answer for three different problems, but this can be overcome if presented as just three different parts of the same answer. Such synergies could deliver economic benefits from the additional renewable energy generated and its associated incentives, and savings on costs for the infrastructure required for the exclusive digestion of food waste.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anaerobic Digestion in the Nexus of Energy, Water and Food

Voulvoulis¹

2015

JEPE

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“…Important examples have been: neodymium and dysprosium for permanent magnets used in wind turbines and electric vehicles [22][23][24][25]; platinum group metals (PGMs) with particular reference to fuel cell technology [23,[26][27][28][29][30][31]; photo-active materials for thin-film solar cells (cadmium, tellurium, selenium, gallium, indium) [32][33][34][35][36][37][38]; lithium for batteries in electric vehicles [39][40][41][42][43]; rare earth elements (REE) (rare earth elements typically include 17 elements, scandium, yttrium, and the lanthanide series. In the case of this study, the REE of interest are neodymium, dysprosium and yttrium.…”

Section: Critical Minerals and Unconventional Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the case of lithium, most studies have indicated that the resources are sufficient for potential future scenarios [39,43]; however, there were some concerns about the physical potential for industry to expand at the required rate [41]. Thin-film solar cells were considered under threat of serious materials supply shortages early on [36], but subsequent analyses have indicated that the likelihood of constrained supply of materials is lowered by the potential for reducing film thicknesses, increasing efficiency, and increasing recycling rates and potential price-induced supply supplementation [35,37,38]. The major unconventional resources considered here are deep ocean ore deposits.…”

Section: Critical Minerals and Unconventional Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Supply cannot exceed demand, except in cases where the theoretical energy demand declines over time, and the dynamics of the model mean that the decommissioning process will occur only at the end of the technology lifetime (20 years). [32] 106 t/GW (2010) [38] 38-74 t/GW (2020) -4.7 t/GW [45] 4.7 g/m 2 [36] 6.5 g/m 2 [35] 69 t/GW [34] Note: * BOP = Balance of Plant.…”

Section: T/gw (2010)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Critical Minerals and Energy–Impacts and Limitations of Moving to Unconventional Resources

et al. 2016

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Abstract:The nexus of minerals and energy becomes ever more important as the economic growth and development of countries in the global South accelerates and the needs of new energy technologies expand, while at the same time various important minerals are declining in grade and available reserves from conventional mining. Unconventional resources in the form of deep ocean deposits and urban ores are being widely examined, although exploitation is still limited. This paper examines some of the implications of the transition towards cleaner energy futures in parallel with the shifts through conventional ore decline and the uptake of unconventional mineral resources. Three energy scenarios, each with three levels of uptake of renewable energy, are assessed for the potential of critical minerals to restrict growth under 12 alternative mineral supply patterns. Under steady material intensities per unit of capacity, the study indicates that selenium, indium and tellurium could be barriers in the expansion of thin-film photovoltaics, while neodymium and dysprosium may delay the propagation of wind power. For fuel cells, no restrictions are observed.

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“…For example, resource constraints for key materials may be encountered as novel CO 2 capture technologies are scaled to a global level, due to limited absolute quantities of materials or to conflicts with other potential uses of the materials. For example, constraints have been identified for materials used in some types of photovoltaic cells [47], and the deployment of some energy technologies will significantly increase the need for particular metals [48]. Upfront analysis of resource requirements and availability may guide researchers as they 15 develop new capture technologies.…”

Section: Scale--up Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A framework for environmental assessment of CO2 capture and storage systems

Sathre

Chester

Cain

et al. 2012

Energy

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Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is increasingly seen as a way for society to enjoy the benefits of fossil fuel energy sources while avoiding the climate disruption associated with fossil CO 2 emissions. A decision to deploy CCS technology at scale should be based on robust information on its overall costs and benefits. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a framework for holistic assessment of the energy and environmental footprint of a system, and can provide crucial information to policymakers, scientists, and engineers as they develop and deploy CCS systems. We identify seven key issues that should be considered to ensure that conclusions and recommendations from CCS LCA are robust: energy penalty, functional units, scale-up challenges, non-climate environmental impacts, uncertainty management, policy-making needs, and market effects. Several recent life-cycle studies have focused on detailed assessments of individual CCS technologies and applications. While such studies provide important data and information on technology performance, such case-specific data are inadequate to fully inform the decision making process. LCA should aim to describe the systemwide environmental implications of CCS deployment at scale, rather than a narrow analysis of technological performance of individual power plants.

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Material constraints for thin-film solar cells

Cited by 96 publications

References 8 publications

Anaerobic Digestion in the Nexus of Energy, Water and Food

Anaerobic Digestion in the Nexus of Energy, Water and Food

Critical Minerals and Energy–Impacts and Limitations of Moving to Unconventional Resources

A framework for environmental assessment of CO2 capture and storage systems

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