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Lifecycle and decommissioning

New technological options, closing material loops, recycling and new waste material applications will bring the circularity into the whole PV value chain. Quantifying energy end material usage and environmental footprints for different possible solutions will be crucial to ensure that the best routes are chosen. Raw materials, such as rare earth metals or copper, are sourced, and individual components of solar panels are produced in different countries around the world.

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Today's and future changing supply chains will therefore have impacts on industrial production, employment opportunities, resource outtake, emissions to air and water. Assessing these indirect supply chain impacts across the world is important in the context of a just and fair transition to a more sustainable future. 

Expertises in SINTEF 

  • Material input- output analyses 
  • Process- and material flow optimalisation 
  • Circular economy 
  • Life cycle analysis (LCA) 
  • Cradle-to-cradle analyses 
  • Global value chain/input-output analysis 
  • Impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)