Techno-Economic and Life-Cycle Assessments of Recycling Pathways for Perovskite on Silicon Tandem Modules

This study investigates four recycling routes for 2-terminal (2T) and 4-terminal (4T) perovskite on silicon (PVSK/Si) tandem photovoltaic modules, evaluating both the techno-economic and environmental aspects. Two main delamination methods—mechanical combined with pyrolysis and flashlight-based—are applied to separate the modules, followed by chemical leaching to recover valuable materials such as silicon and metals. The techno-economic assessment reveals that the cost per module ranges between 2.97 and 3.94 euros, with the flashlight delamination method (2TB and 4TB) proving more cost-effective by approximately 1 euro per module. Additionally, life-cycle assessment results indicate that material recovery reduces environmental impacts in the category of resource use, with 2TB shown as the most favorable route. This work highlights the potential of efficient recycling processes for PVSK/Si modules to contribute to circular economy practices in the photovoltaic industry.