Repairable photovoltaic modules: Repairability assessment and reliability-based design optimization under uncertain loading

As the solar industry continues to grow, the accumulation of photovoltaic (PV) module waste highlights the pressing need for more circular, modular and repairable designs. Conventional laminated modules are difficult to disassemble, which limits not only their repairability but also material recovery and component reuse during recycling. While avoiding the lamination improves disassembly, it also compromises the module’s mechanical integrity. This trade-off demands a careful redesign to maintain structural requirements without sacrificing key criteria such as repairability, weight, and cost. Existing repairability assessment methods are generally not tailored to PV modules and are rarely integrated with reliability-based design optimization to balance repairability, structural performance, weight, and cost during the early design phase. This study presents a semi-quantitative relative repairability assessment method, tailored specifically for PV modules, to quantify the impact of design changes on repairability. Additionally, a reliability-based optimization approach is presented to redesign the PV module. Using Robustimizer software, reliability-based optimization is incorporated to account for uncertain scenarios during the life cycle of the product. As a case study, the proposed methodologies are applied to a laminate-free open-source PV module developed by Biosphere Solar. Finite element analysis and experimental testing on a prototype demonstrate compliance with IEC61215 standard. The optimized design achieved a 51% improvement in repairability compared to the baseline design, together with a 6% reduction in cost, albeit at the expense of a 45% increase in module mass. The proposed approach provides a scalable framework for advancing sustainable design practices in the PV industry.