Energy transition: active duty?
…will scale up. But the trajectory will not be a straight line. We have recently seen share prices crushed in offshore wind (forewarned here) or PV silicon (forewarned here). Active…
Solar: energy payback and embedded energy?
…solar panel is about 65% glass, 15% aluminium, c10% polymers (mainly EVA encapsulants and PVF back-sheet), c3% copper. Photovoltaic silicon is only 5% of the panel by mass, but about…
Hydrofluoric acid: the economics?
…in its own right, to etch silicon chips, metals and blow insulation foams. This economic model captures the production of hydrogen fluoride from acid-grade fluorspar and sulfuric acid. We think…
Fluorinated polymers: flying under the radar?
…the most resilient polymers in the world (page 2). Yet they are overlooked. When you think about the materials in solar panels, you are primarily going to think about silicon,…
Power functions: how would gas shortages change the cost curve?
…example, PV silicon, carbon fiber, other metals (see below). This is why higher gas/energy prices or higher CO2 prices mechanically translate into mild re-inflation for wind and solar in our…
Established technologies: hiding in plain sight?
…first electric wind turbine was built in Scotland in 1887 and the first PV silicon was produced at Bell Laboratories in 1954. Today wind and solar comprise 9% of global…
Decarbonized supply chains: first invent the universe?
…turbine blades and hydrogen storage tanks), photovoltaic silicon (used in solar panels), lithium (used in batteries), neodymium magnets (used in wind turbines and EVs), dielectric gases (used in electricity distribution)…
Model of losses in a solar cell: surface, emitter and shading?
…contact fingers (0.5-1%), resistance in the emitter (1.5-2.5%) and resistance due to shading of the silicon by fingers and busbars (2-3%). This data-file allows stress-testing of different impacts on solar…