Water purification systems have made access to drinking water easier by treating water sources which previously could not be used for drinking. Such systems however require energy and materials to build and operate which means they have environmental impacts. This thesis performs a cradle to grave life cycle assessment of a solar driven HVR water purification system used to treat contaminated groundwater in Odisha, India. The system has three subsystems each with different components – a water purification subsystem that uses an air gap membrane distillation (AGMD) process to purify ground water to produce drinking water, a solar photovoltaic subsystem to provide electricity and a solar thermal subsystem with evacuated tube collectors to provide hot water. The timeframe of the study is 15 years and the chosen functional unit is 590 m3 of drinking water produced over 15 years. The environmental impacts of the system are evaluated using the ReCiPe Midpoint (H) impact assessment method and the life cycle is modelled in the software SimaPro using the Ecoinvent database for inventory data. A comparison is then made between the lifecycle impact of a solar driven HVR water purification system and a grid driven HVR system as well as a water purification system with conventional end of life treatment and a system with state of the art end of life treatment. Along with the lifecycle impact, the levelized cost of water of the water purification system has also been calculated. The results show that within the entire system the solar PV subsystem has the highest impact due to the high electricity consumption during silicon purification for manufacturing the solar panels. The solar thermal subsystem has the next highest impact with the biggest contributor being the manufacturing of glass tubes for the solar collectors. The water purification subsystem has the least impact with the highest share due to use of acetic acid during its use phase for maintenance. The modelling results focus on four impact categories and show the following life cycle impacts - global warming potential : 27 180 kg CO2eq, human carcinogenic toxicity : 2 412 kg 1.4-DCB eq, marine ecotoxicity : 2 662 kg 1.4-DCB eq, freshwater ecotoxicity : 1 967 kg 1.4-DCB eq. The grid operated system shows a lifecycle impact 70 to 170 times higher across these four impact categories compared to the solar driven system. This is due to the high share of fossil fuels in the Indian electricity grid. The state-of-the-art end of life treatment shows a 17% and 22% reduction in freshwater as well as marine ecotoxicity impacts of the system compared to conventional end of life treatment with negligible impacts on global warming and human carcinogenic toxicity. The levelized cost of water calculations show that the system with its current runtime of 6 hours when run using solar energy or the grid is not economically competitive compared to bottled water in India. A sensitivity analysis is then performed to evaluate the sensitivity of lifecycle impact to maintenance frequency and the lifetime of components and the sensitivity of the levelized cost of water to discount rate and the production cost of AGMD modules. The analysis shows that only the lifetime of components has a significant influence on the life cycle impactof the system, the maintenance frequency has a significant impact on freshwater and marine ecotoxicitywhile the discount rate and production cost of AGDM modules has no impact on the levelized cost of water. In conclusion the findings of this thesis agree with the major findings of previous studies done on the topic and adds to the limited knowledge in the literature on the life cycle impact of solar powered AGMD systems. / Vattenreningssystem har gjort förenklat tillgången till dricksvatten genom att behandla vattenkällor som tidigare inte gick att komma åt för att dricka. Sådana system kräver dock energi och material för att bygga och fungera, vilket innebär att de kommer med en miljöbelastning. Detta examensarbete utför en livscykelanalys från vagga till grav av ett vattenreningssystem som används för att behandla förorenat grundvatten i Odisha, Indien. Systemet renar grundvatten genom en destillationsprocess för luftgapmembran och möter sitt elbehov med hjälp av ett solcells-PV-delsystem och varmvattenbehov genom ett solvärmedelsystem med evakuerade rörkollektorer. Den valda funktionsenheten är 590 m3 dricksvatten producerat över 15 år. Systemets miljöpåverkan utvärderas med hjälp av konsekvensbedömningsmetoden ReCiPe Midpoint (H) och livscykeln modelleras i programvaran SimaPro med hjälp av Ecoinvents databas. En jämförelse görs sedan mellan miljöpåverkan från ett solcellsdrivet och ett elnätsdrivet vattenreningssystem och en mellan ett vattenreningssystem med konventionell samttoppmodern avfallshantering. Tillsammans med miljöpåverkan har även den utjämnade kostnaden (LCOW) för vatten i vattenreningssystemet beräknats. Resultaten visar att solcellsdelsystemet har störst miljöpåverkan på grund av den höga elförbrukningen under kiselrening för tillverkning av solpanelerna. Solvärmedelsystemet har den näst högsta påverkan med näst högsta andelen på grund av tillverkningen av glasrör för solfångarna. Delsystemet för vattenrening har minst påverkan varav den högsta andelen kommer från användningen för underhåll av systemet under operationella fas. Modelleringsresultaten fokuserar på fyra påverkanskategorier och visar följande potentiell miljöpåverkan - global uppvärmningspotential: 27 180 kg CO2ekv, mänsklig cancerogen toxicitet: 2 412 kg 1,4-DCB ekv, marin ekotoxicitet: 2 662 kg 1,4-DCB ekv, sötvattensekotoxicitet: 1 967 kg 1,4-DCB ekv. Det nätdrivna systemet visar 70 till 170 g[nger högre stor miljöpåverkan jämfört med det solcellsdrivna systemet i de fyra påverkanskategorierna på grund av den höga andelen fossila bränslen i det indiska elnätet. Medtoppmodern avfallshantering minskat systemets akvatiska och marina ekotoxicitetseffekter med en 10 % jämfört med konventionell avfallshantering och med försumbar påverkan på global uppvärmning och mänsklig cancerogen toxicitet. Den utjämnade kostnaden för vatten visar att när systemet med sin nuvarande drifttid på 6 timmar per dag varken kopplad till solenergi eller elnätet är ekonomiskt konkurrenskraftigt jämfört med vatten på flaska i Indien. En känslighetsanalys utförs sedan på fyra parametrar - underhållsfrekvens, komponenters livslängd, diskonteringsränta och kostnaden för destillationsmodulerna för luftgapmembran för att se deras inverkan på systemets miljöpåverkan och utjämnade vattenkostnader. Analysen visar att endast komponenternas livslängd har en betydande inverkan på systemets livscykelpåverkan, underhållsfrekvensen har en betydande inverkan på sötvatten och marin ekotoxicitet medan diskonteringsräntan och produktionskostnaden för AGDM-moduler inte har någon inverkan på den utjämnade kostnaden för vatten. Sammanfattningsvis kommer resultaten av denna studie att lägga till den begränsade kunskapen i litteraturen om livscykelpåverkan av soldrivna luftgapmembrandestillationssystem.

The aim of this thesis is to evaluate different repowering alternatives from the viewpoint of increasing power production from existing offshore wind farms (OWF), as some of the first commissioned OWFs are approaching the end of their expected lifetime. The thesis presents a literature review of components and financial aspects that are of importance for repowering of OWFs. In the literature review, risks and uncertainties regarding repowering are also lifted and analysed. The thesis contains a case study on Horns Rev 1 OWF, where three different repowering scenarios are evaluated by technical and financial performance, aiming to compare the cost of repowering alternatives. The design of the case study is based around previous studies of offshore repowering having focused mainly on achieving the lowest possible levelized cost of energy (LCoE) and highest possible capacity factor, often resulting in suggested repowering utilizing smaller wind turbines than the existing ones. In order to evaluate the financial viability of repowering alternatives, the software RETScreen Expert was used to estimate the annual energy production (AEP) after losses and calculate the net present value (NPV) and LCoE for lifetime extension and full repowering utilizing different capacity wind turbines. Input values from the literature as well as real wind resource measurements from the site was utilized to achieve as accurate results as possible. The result of the case study shows that repowering of OWFs have the possibility of providing a very strong business case with all scenarios resulting in a positive NPV as well as lower LCoE than the benchmarked electricity production price. Although the initial investment cost of the different repowering alternatives presented in this thesis still are uncertain to some extent, due to the lack of reliable costs for repowering alternatives, this thesis provides a base for further research regarding the repowering of OWFs.

Today’s carbon constrained world with its increasing demand for cheap energy and a fossil fuel intensive fleet of power producers is making carbon capture and storage (CCS) desirable. Several CCS technologies are under investigation by various research and development groups globally. One of the more promising technologies is oxy-fuel combustion, since it produces a CO2 rich flue gas which requires minor processing to meet storage condition requirements. In this study the economics of an advanced super critical oxy-coal power plant burning lignite, simulated in-house was assessed. A robust and user-friendly financial tool box has been developed with commonly acceptable default parameter settings. Capital, operation and maintenance costs were estimated along with corresponding levelized cost of electricity and CO2 avoidance costs calculated using the detailed financial model developed. A levelized cost of electricity of 131 $/MWhrnet along with a levelized CO2 avoidance cost of 64 $/tonne was estimated for an ASC oxy-coal power plant with CO2 capture. Also a levelized cost of electricity of 83 $/MWhrnet was estimated for an ASC air-fired coal power plant without CO2 capture capabilities as the base plant. The price of electricity was observed to increase from 83 $/MWhrnet to 131 $/MWhrnet translating into a 57% increase. The sensitivity of the overall economics of the process was assessed to several parameters. The overall economics was found sensitive to the choice chemical engineering plant cost index (CEPCI), capacity factor, size of power plant, debt ratio, fuel price, interest rate, and construction duration.

Today???s carbon constrained world with its increasing demand for cheap energy and a fossil fuel intensive fleet of power producers is making carbon capture and storage (CCS) desirable. Several CCS technologies are under investigation by various research and development groups globally. One of the more promising technologies is oxy-fuel combustion, since it produces a CO2 rich flue gas which requires minor processing to meet storage condition requirements. In this study the economics of an advanced super critical oxy-coal power plant burning lignite, simulated in-house was assessed. A robust and user-friendly financial tool box has been developed with commonly acceptable default parameter settings. Capital, operation and maintenance costs were estimated along with corresponding levelized cost of electricity and CO2 avoidance costs calculated using the detailed financial model developed. A levelized cost of electricity of 131 $/MWhrnet along with a levelized CO2 avoidance cost of 64 $/tonne was estimated for an ASC oxy-coal power plant with CO2 capture. Also a levelized cost of electricity of 83 $/MWhrnet was estimated for an ASC air-fired coal power plant without CO2 capture capabilities as the base plant. The price of electricity was observed to increase from 83 $/MWhrnet to 131 $/MWhrnet translating into a 57% increase. The sensitivity of the overall economics of the process was assessed to several parameters. The overall economics was found sensitive to the choice chemical engineering plant cost index (CEPCI), capacity factor, size of power plant, debt ratio, fuel price, interest rate, and construction duration.

Submitted by Leonardo Madeira (leoribmad@hotmail.com) on 2017-05-24T20:49:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Leonardo_Madeira v4 - revEdson VF IMPRESSA.pdf: 497221 bytes, checksum: edd8c6618d1bbcf4135abc1f146a6980 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by GILSON ROCHA MIRANDA (gilson.miranda@fgv.br) on 2017-05-29T14:55:52Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Leonardo_Madeira v4 - revEdson VF IMPRESSA.pdf: 497221 bytes, checksum: edd8c6618d1bbcf4135abc1f146a6980 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-30T12:49:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Leonardo_Madeira v4 - revEdson VF IMPRESSA.pdf: 497221 bytes, checksum: edd8c6618d1bbcf4135abc1f146a6980 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-05-05 / This study seeks to evaluate the financial differences of power generation between a huge array of technologies, splitting them in Dispatchable and Intermittent. Tacitly accepted all over the world as a financial tool to compare any kind of technology, the Levelized Cost of Energy, LCOE, might originate inappropriate conclusions assumptions once it considers the life cycle of some power generation source with a homogeneous generation profile. Containing a huge framework of data source and a simple metric, the study puts the Joskow (2011) study into Brazil electric sector context. / Este trabalho busca avaliar as diferenças financeiras de geração de energia entre uma grande gama de tecnologias, separando-as em Despacháveis e Intermitentes. Aceito na grande maioria dos países como instrumento de comparação financeira entre fontes de geração, o Custo Nivelado de Energia (LCOE) também é amplamente utilizado no Brasil. Com base em Joskow (2011) e em dados para empreendimentos brasileiros, mostra-se que esta métrica, o LCOE, pode gerar conclusões equivocadas devido ao fato de considerar, em um ciclo de vida dos projetos, um perfil de geração homogêneo, o que não é compatível com as características de despachabilidade das diversas fontes.

Floating offshore wind power is a relatively new technology that enables wind turbines to float above the sea level, tied by anchors at the seabed. The purpose of this work is to develop an economic model for the technology in order to calculate the total cost of a planned wind farm. Cost data are retrieved from reports and academic journals available online. Based on these data, a model in Microsoft Excel is developed which calculates the Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for floating wind power plants as a function of several input values. As an addition to this model, financing offshore projects are described using literature study and by doing interviews with three major companies, currently investing in offshore wind. As a result, the model allows the user to calculate Capital expenditures, Operating expenditures and LCOE for projects at any given size and at any given site. The current LCOE for a large floating offshore wind farm is indicated to be in the range of 138-147 £/MWh. The outline from interviews was that today there is no shortage of capital for funding wind projects. However, in order to attract capital, the governmental regulatory of that market has to be suitable since it has a crucial impact on price risks of a project.

<div>In a world of ever-increasing demand for energy while preventing adverse effects of climate</div><div>change, renewable energy has been sought after as a sustainable solution. To this end,</div><div>the last couple of decades have seen an advancement in research and development of solar</div><div>photovoltaic (PV) technology by leaps and bounds. This has led to a steady improvement</div><div>in the cost-effectiveness of solar PV as compared to the traditional sources of energy, e.g.,</div><div>fossil fuels as well as contemporary renewable energy sources such as wind and hydropower.</div><div>To further decrease the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of solar PV, new materials and</div><div>technologies are being investigated and subsequently deployed as residential, commercial, and</div><div>utility-scale systems. One such innovation is called bifacial PV, which allows collection of</div><div>light from the front as well as rear surfaces of a flat PV panel.</div><div><br></div><div>In this thesis, we present a detailed investigation of bifacial solar PV farms analyzed across</div><div>the globe. We define the problem, explore the challenges, and collaborate with researchers</div><div>from academia and the PV industry to find a novel solution.</div><div><br></div><div>First, we begin by developing a multi-module computational framework to numerically</div><div>model a utility-scale bifacial solar PV farm. This requires integrating optical, electrical,</div><div>thermal, and economic models in order to estimate the energy yield and LCOE of a bifacial</div><div>PV system. The first hurdle is to re-formulate the LCOE so that the economist and the</div><div>technologist can collaborate seamlessly. Thus, we re-parameterize the LCOE expression</div><div>and validate our economic model with economists at the National Renewable Energy Lab</div><div>(NREL).</div><div><br></div><div>Second, we extend the existing optical and electrical models created for stand-alone</div><div>bifacial PV panels to models that can simulate a large-scale bifacial solar PV farm. This</div><div>brings the challenge of mathematically modeling solar farms and light collection on the rows</div><div>of PV panels elevated from the ground by taking into account the mutual shading between</div><div>the rows, reflections from the ground, and elevation-dependent light absorption on the rear</div><div>surface of the PV panels from several neighboring rows. Next, we integrate temperaturedependent</div><div>efficiency models to take into account the effects of location-dependent ambient</div><div>temperature, wind speed, and technology-varying temperature coefficients of the solar PV</div><div>system in consideration.</div><div><br></div><div>Third, we complete the comprehensive modeling of bifacial solar PV farms by including</div><div>two types of single-axis tracking algorithms viz. sun-tracking and power tracking. Using these</div><div>algorithms, we explore the best tracking orientation of solar farms i.e., East-West tracking</div><div>vs. North-South tracking for locations around the world. We further find the best land type</div><div>suitable for installation of these E/W or N/S tracking bifacial solar PV farms.</div><div><br></div><div>Fourth, we reduce the computation time of numerical modeling by utilizing the advantages</div><div>of machine learning algorithms. We train neural networks using data from the alreadybuilt</div><div>models to emulate the numerical modeling of a solar farm. Amazingly, we find the</div><div>computation time reduces by orders of magnitude while accurately estimating the energy</div><div>yield and LCOE of PV farms.</div><div><br></div><div>Fifth, we derive, compare, and experimentally validate the thermodynamic efficiency</div><div>limits of photovoltaic-to-electrochemical energy conversion for the purpose of storing solar</div><div>energy for future needs.</div><div><br></div><div>Finally, we present some new ideas and guidelines for future extensions of this thesis as</div><div>well as new challenges and problems that need further exploration.</div>

The Next Generation funds have promoted energy transition projects and specially in Spain many green hydrogen projects are being presented throughout the territory. When developing renewable hydrogen-related projects multiple parameters and inputs must be considered since the characteristics of the sites' surroundings will have a great impact in the profitability of the project.  The main objective of this master thesis is to develop a methodology which helps with the process of selecting a suitable site to deploy a green hydrogen production facility. The study is limited to the green hydrogen production through electrolysis in the Valencian Community. It starts with georeferenced data gathering of the identified parameters that may have an impact in the viability of the project such the sun, wind and water resources avaliable as well as the transportation infrastructures and main hydrogen potential consumtions. Special attention is given to the water allocation since hydrogen could be exported and with it, the water resources from the Valencian Community. Afterwards this data is processed in a geographic information system software by performing a multi-criteria weighted overlay analysis. The weight of each criteria is given following the Analytic Hierarchy Process.  Once these steps have been completed, a suitability map of the Valencian Community is obtained in which one can see the most suitable locations to deploy green hydrogen production projects based on the selected criteria. In this thesis, the sites with the highest suitability score are selected in each of the three provinces of the Valencian Community and several parameters such as the green hydrogen production potential in tons/year or the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) have been calculated.  The results showed many similarities among the three locations in terms of green hydrogen production and LCOH due to its relativley close geographical situation. However, interesting findings such as the crucial need of having nearby a source of avaliable water and the key role of desalination plants have been depicted. / Next Generation-fonderna har främjat energiomställningsprojekt och särskilt i Spanien presenteras många gröna vätgasprojekt över hela territoriet. Vid utveckling av förnybara vätgasrelaterade projekt måste flera parametrar och ingångar beaktas eftersom egenskaperna hos platsernas omgivning kommer att ha stor inverkan på projektets lönsamhet.  Huvudsyftet med denna masteruppsats är att utveckla en metod som hjälper till med processen att välja en lämplig plats för att driftsätta en produktionsanläggning för grön vätgas. Studien är begränsad till grön vätgasproduktion genom elektrolys i Valencia-regionen. Den börjar med georefererad datainsamling av de identifierade parametrarna som kan ha en inverkan på projektets genomförbarhet, såsom tillgängliga sol-, vind- och vattenresurser samt transportinfrastruktur och huvudsakliga potentiella vätgasförbrukningar. Särskilt uppmärksamhet ägnas åt vattentilldelningen eftersom vätgas kan exporteras och därmed vattenresurserna från Valencia-regionen. Därefter bearbetas dessa data i ett geografiskt informationssystem genom att utföra en viktad överlagringsanalys med flera kriterier. Vikten av varje kriterium ges enligt den analytiska hierarkiprocessen.  När dessa steg har slutförts erhålls en lämplighetskarta över regionen Valencia där man kan se de lämpligaste platserna för att genomföra projekt för produktion av grön vätgas baserat på de valda kriterierna. I denna avhandling väljs de platser med högst lämplighetspoäng i var och en av de tre provinserna i Valencia-regionen och flera parametrar som den gröna vätgasproduktionspotentialen i ton/år eller den nivellerade kostnaden för vätgas (LCOH) har beräknats.  Resultaten visade många likheter mellan de tre platserna när det gäller produktion av grön vätgas och LCOH på grund av deras relativt nära geografiska läge. Det har dock gjorts intressanta upptäckter, t.ex. det avgörande behovet av att ha en tillgänglig vattenkälla i närheten och avlastningsanläggningarnas nyckelroll.

Previous research has displayed that multi-source farms provide an opportunity to reduce the cost of energy and improve the energy output quality. This thesis assesses the cost competitiveness of co-located wind-wave farms, specifically floating offshore wind (FLOW) turbines and CorPower’s wave energy converters (WEC). This research was conducted in collaboration with CorPower, a Swedish WEC developer. A cost model is generated, which calculates the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) utilizing a life-cycle cost analysis. The model is developed by combining CorPower’s existing cost model with an agglomeration of FLOW cost models from previous studies. An in depth literature research informs about synergies, which are translated into shared costs within the model. The cost model is applied to a site on the Northern coast of Portugal; the location of a FLOW farm project under development. Including wave energy, improves the annual energy production of the farm by up to 10%. However, the effects on power smoothing are negligible, due to the high seasonal variability of the wave resource and the minimal complementarity of the two energy sources. The LCOE of a 1GW 50% wind - 50% wave farm is 63€/MWh. The high initial investment costs of the wind farm results in the standalone wind LCOE of 73€/MWh. The strong capacity factor of the WECs cause the LCOE to reduce to 55€/MWh, when evaluating a standalone wave farm. In all co-location configurations, savings for FLOW and wave farm developers are exhibited. The highest savings are identified for small wind/wave arrays co-located in large farms. This results in an LCOE reduction of up to 4.5% for both wind and wave farm developers. The largest relative savings are found in the DEVEX costs and the electrical transmission installation costs. The identified cost calculations and savings are inline with previous studies. The savings are in the lower range compared to other studies, due to the conservative estimations of the degree of shared costs. The cost model provides a tool, that can be continuously updated with the most recent findings of cost inputs and wind-wave synergies, i.e. shared cost opportunities. This thesis’ results reflect how co-locating wind and wave farms can improve the cost-competitiveness of both technologies. Nevertheless, more in depth research is required to comprehend the full potential of co-located wind-wave farms. There is a necessity of collaboration between wind and wave industry members to ensure that the synergies and shared cost-opportunities identified, are fully exploited. / Tidigare forskning har visat att parker med flera källor ger möjlighet att minska energikostnaderna och förbättra energiproduktionens kvalitet. I den här avhandlingen utvärderas kostnadskonkurrenskraften hos samlokaliserade vind- och vågkraftsparker, särskilt flytande havsbaserade vindkraftverk (FLOW) och CorPowers vågenergiomvandlare (WEC). Denna forskning genomfördes i samarbete med CorPower, en svensk WEC-utvecklare. En kostnadsmodell genereras, som beräknar den nivellerade energikostnaden (LCOE) med hjälp av en livscykelkostnadsanalys. Modellen är utvecklad genom att kombinera CorPowers befintliga kostnadsmodell med en agglomeration av FLOW-kostnadsmodeller från tidigare studier. En djupgående litteraturstudie ger information om synergier, som översätts till delade kostnader i modellen. Kostnadsmodellen tillämpas på en plats på Portugals norra kust, där ett FLOW-anläggningsprojekt är under utveckling. Genom att inkludera vågenergi förbättras parkens årliga energiproduktion med upp till 10%. Effekterna på effektutjämningen är dock försumbara, på grund av vågresursens stora säsongsvariationer och de två energikällornas minimala komplementaritet. LCOE för en 1GW 50% vind - 50% vågkraftspark är 63€/MWh. De höga initiala investeringskostnaderna för vindkraftsparken resulterar i en LCOE för fristående vindkraft på 73 €/MWh. Den starka kapacitetsfaktorn för WECs gör att LCOE minskar till 55€/MWh, vid utvärdering av en fristående vågkraftspark. I alla samlokaliseringskonfigurationer uppvisas besparingar för FLOW och vågparksutvecklare. De största besparingarna identifieras för små vind-/vågkraftsparker som samlokaliseras i stora parker. Detta resulterar i en minskning av LCOE med upp till 4,5% för både vind- och vågparksutvecklare. De största relativa besparingarna finns i DEVEX-kostnaderna och installationskostnaderna för elektrisk överföring. De identifierade kostnadsberäkningarna och besparingarna är i linje med tidigare studier. Besparingarna ligger i det lägre intervallet jämfört med andra studier, på grund av de konservativa uppskattningarna av graden av delade kostnader. Kostnadsmodellen är ett verktyg som kontinuerligt kan uppdateras med de senaste rönen om kostnadsingångar och synergier mellan vind och våg, dvs. möjligheter till delade kostnader. Resultaten i denna avhandling visar hur samlokalisering av vind- och vågkraftsparker kan förbättra kostnadskonkurrenskraften för båda teknikerna. Det krävs dock mer djupgående forskning för att förstå den fulla potentialen hossamlokaliserade vind- och vågparker. Det finns ett behov av samarbete mellanvind- och vågkraftsindustrin för att säkerställa att de identifierade synergierna ochgemensamma kostnadsmöjligheterna utnyttjas fullt ut.

<div>The manufacturing cost of solar cells along with their efficiency and reliability define the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). One needs to reduce LCOE to make solar cells cost competitive compared to other sources of electricity. After a sustained decrease since 2001 the manufacturing cost of the dominant photovoltaic technology based on c-Si solar cells has recently reached a plateau. Further reduction in LCOE is only possible by increasing the efficiency and/or reliability of c-Si cells. Among alternate technologies, organic photovoltaics (OPV) has reduced manufacturing cost, but they do not offer any LCOE gain because their lifetime and efficiency are significantly lower than c-Si. Recently, perovskite solar cells have showed promising results in terms of both cost and efficiency, but their reliability/stability is still a concern and the physical origin of the efficiency gain is not fully understood.</div><div><br></div>In this work, we have collaborated with scientists industry and academia to explain the origin of the increased cell efficiency of bulk solution-processed perovskite cells. We also explored the possibility of enhancing the efficiency of the c-Si and perovskite cells by using them in a tandem configuration. To improve the intrinsic reliability, we have investigated 2D-perovskite cells with slightly lower efficiency but longer lifetime. We interpreted the behavior of the 2D-perovskite cells using randomly stacked quantum wells in the absorber region. We studied the reliability issues of c-Si modules and correlated series resistance of the modules directly to the solder bond failure. We also found out that finger thinning of the contacts at cell level manifests as a fake shunt resistance but is distinguishable from real shunt resistance by exploring the reverse bias or efficiency vs. irradiance. Then we proposed a physics-based model to predict the energy yield and lifetime of a module that suffers from solder bond failure using real field data by considering the statistical nature of the failure at module level. This model is part of a more comprehensive model that can predict the lifetime of a module that suffers from more degradation mechanisms such as yellowing, potential induced degradation, corrosion, soiling, delamination, etc. simultaneously. This method is called forward modeling since we start from environmental data and initial information of the module, and then predict the lifetime and time-dependent energy yield of a solar cell technology. As the future work, we will use our experience in forward modeling to deconvolve the reliability issues of a module that is fielded since each mechanism has a different electrical signature. Then by calibrating the forward model, we can predict the remaining lifetime of the fielded module. This work opens new pathways to achieve 2030 Sunshot goals of LCOE below 3c/kWh by predicting the lifetime that the product can be guaranteed, helping financial institutions regarding the risk of their investment, or national laboratories to redefine the qualification and reliability protocols.<br>