Sustainability Assessment of Photovoltaic Cells in Cross-Functional Applications

Achieving the G7 countries' net-zero emissions target by 2050 requires integrating photovoltaic (PV) systems into diverse cross-functional applications that support sustainable energy transitions across multiple sectors. This dissertation explores the economic and environmental sustainability of three such applications: agrivoltaics, lower-dimensional materials in perovskite solar cells, and PV-electrochemical water-splitting technologies for hydrogen production. Employing life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA), we address the knowledge gap in comprehensive evaluations of PV-integrated solutions.\nThe first chapter assesses agrivoltaic systems (AVS), which combine PV systems with agriculture to mitigate land-use conflicts while enhancing food and energy production. Findings indicate that AVS designs, particularly 2-axis tracking, outperform conventional PV-only systems in economic viability and environmental impacts, though additional incentives may be required for competitive market integration. In the second chapter, we evaluate lower-dimensional (LD) materials for improving perovskite solar cell stability and efficiency. Results show that LD-PSC configurations using environmentally favorable LD materials, like reduced graphene oxide and molybdenum disulfide, offer significantly lower impacts and faster energy payback periods than traditional PV technologies. The final chapter examines the potential of anion exchange membrane (AEM)-based PV-electrochemical (PV-EC) systems for green hydrogen production, achieving competitive levelized costs of hydrogen and favorable environmental profiles, particularly with optimizations in AEM cell life and solar-to-hydrogen efficiency.\nThis dissertation's findings contribute to advancing PV technology integration, providing insights into the economic and environmental viability of agrivoltaics, LD materials in PSCs, and AEM-based PV-EC systems as scalable solutions for a sustainable energy future.