Solar energy has gained prominence because of the increasing global attention received by renewable energies. This shift can be attributed to advancements and innovations in solar cell technology, which include developments of various photovoltaic materials, such as thin film and tandem solar cells, in addition to silicon-based solar cells. The latter is the most widely commercialized type of solar cell because of its exceptional durability, long-term stability, and high photoconversion efficiency; consequently, the demand for Si solar cells has been consistently increasing. PV modules are designed for an operation lifespan of 25–30 years, which has led to a gradual increase in the number of end-of-life PV modules. The appropriate management of both end-of-life and prematurely failed PV modules is critical for the recovery and separation of valuable and hazardous materials. Effective methods for end-of-life PV waste management are necessary to minimize their environmental impact and facilitate transition to a more sustainable and circular economy. This paper offers a comprehensive overview of the separation processes for silicon PV modules and summarizes the attempts to design easily recyclable modules for sustainable solar module development. Based on the studies summarized in this paper, suggestions are provided for future research.

As we move towards the commercialization and upscaling of perovskite solar cells, it is essential to fabricate them in ambient environment rather than in the conventional glove box environment. The efficiency of ambient-processed perovskite solar cells lags behind those fabricated in controlled environments, primarily owing to external environmental factors such as humidity and temperature. In the case of device fabrication in ambient environments, relying solely on a single parameter, such as temperature or humidity, is insufficient for accurately characterizing environmental conditions. Therefore, the dew point is introduced as a parameter which accounts for both temperature and humidity. In this study, a machine learning model was developed to predict the efficiency of ambient-processed perovskite solar cells based on meteorological data, particularly the dew point. A total of 238 perovskite solar cells were fabricated, and their photovoltaic parameters and dew points were collected from March to December 2023. The collected data were used to train various tree-based machine learning models, with the random forest model achieving the highest accuracy. The efficiencies of the perovskite solar cells fabricated in January and February 2024 were predicted with a MAPE of 4.44%. An additional Shapley Additive exPlanations analysis confirmed the significance of the dew point in the performance of perovskite solar cells.

This study investigated the integration of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) on stainless steel (SS) substrates for application in building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). Using advanced atomic force microscopy measurements, we confirmed that enhanced substrate roughness increased the reflectance along an interface. Consequently, a remarkable final efficiency of 11.9% was achieved. Notably, PSCs, known for their exceptional efficiency of 26.1%, can overcome the inherent efficiency limitations of SS-based thin-film solar cells. In this study, a PSC with an efficiency of 14% was fabricated on a flexible SS substrate. This study is a significant step towards advancing sustainable energy solutions for BIPV applications. The global shift towards renewable energy sources has catalyzed intensive research and development efforts, rendering the exploration of alternative materials and manufacturing processes a priority. The success of PSCs on SS substrates underscores their promise to achieve a balance between efficiency and versatility in BIPV solutions. Moreover, our findings reveal that controlling the substrate surface characteristics can significantly enhance the performance of PSCs, offering a pathway toward greater energy efficiency and sustainability in the construction industry.

C ₆₀ -buffered SS-based PSCs maintain efficiency and stability under bending, enabling flexible BIPV and VIPV applications.