PVthin: How can thin film PV help us hit #NetZero?

Earlier this year, the EU set out its ambitious climate strategy in its Communication on the European Green Deal. On Wednesday 4 March, the Commission published the EU Climate Law, alongside the EU Climate Pact, but what does it aim to achieve and how can thin film photovoltaics contribute?

Climate law & pact key highlights:

• Sets out a binding objective of climate neutrality in the EU by 2050 to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.
• Commits the Commission to assess if the EU could raise its emissions reduction target from 40% to 50-55% compared to 1990 by 2030.
• In 2023 and every 5 years after, the Commission will review progress made by all Member States towards the 2050 climate neutrality target.
• The Commission will engage with all parts of society to empower them to take action towards a climate-neutral and climate-resilient society.
• Through its climate pact, the Commission will encourage societal engagement on climate and environmental issues by bringing citizens and organisations together to share ideas, experience and to collaborate.

Every hour the sun supplies enough energy to power the world for an entire year - see graphic (source: Perez et.al.), and by 2050 PV could meet 36% of Europe’s electricity demand. Therefore, it is clear that renewable energy sources and PV in particular, will play a key role in EU efforts to reduce emissions to at least 40% of 1990 levels and achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

However, in order to make these goals a reality, we must look at the type of PV products that we use and examine their entire life cycle as well as their intrinsic technology attributes. Factoring in versatility of application and grid integration is as important as remembering that producing PV technologies itself creates emissions and uses resources in the supply chain. Ensuring minimal environmental impacts of the electricity produced, encompasses the comparative evaluation of the product environmental footprint, as well as maximising the energy yield and resource circularity.

This is where thin film PV excels - by using less electricity and less materials during production, thin film PV technologies help to increase the energy return on energy invested and resource efficiency, as well as decreasing embedded carbon and the life cycle carbon footprint of the electricity generated. Furthermore, thin film PV technologies will enable the next generation of tandem photovoltaic devices, boosting conversion efficiencies and further reducing costs.

The EU has set ambitious targets, but they are achievable if it can get behind leading technologies in the renewables sector, and encourage citizen engagement through the climate pact. PVthin stands ready to assist the EU in its aims and is looking forward to hitting the bold targets together.