Reprocess, reuse, repeat: greener recycling of perovskite solar cells cuts costs

Researchers in Sweden and the US say that chemically recycling perovskite solar cells could cut their costs, making them more competitive with the leading technology – crystalline silicon modules. Feng Gao’s team at Linköping University, Sweden, has developed a technique to cheaply and repeatedly take apart solar cells made of perovskite materials and make new high-performance devices. The conditions they use are environmentally friendly, primarily water based. ‘Our colleagues from Cornell University calculate that recycling perovskite solar panels actually can save money,’ Gao tells Chemistry World.