To meet net-zero targets, the solar capacity must increase significantly across the world by 2050. Solar power is a key component in fighting climate change, with solar photovoltaics the cheapest electricity source in many regions.
A new roadmap, led by researchers and academics from the UK’s photovoltaics and materials science community, discusses where photovoltaics technology stands and where it should develop, with insights in promoting solar technology innovation and in navigating supply chains, scalability and sustainability challenges. The roadmap builds on the Henry Royce Institute’s Materials for the Energy Transition roadmaps (2020), where the UK’s photovoltaics community defined strategic opportunities and risks in solar photovoltaics, with the University of Oxford playing a major role.
Beyond efficiency improvements, the solar industry needs to keep working to overcome challenges around sustainability and supply chain resilience. In fact, the future of photovoltaics depends on a balance of performance, environmental sustainability and economic viability, in core areas such as material availability, toxicity, and recycling. Addressing these issues will be crucial to the future of solar technologies. Progress in solar technology is widening the scope of photovoltaics beyond crystalline-silicon panels, and emerging materials have the potential to enhance sustainability, as well as efficiency.
The roadmap for solar technology emphasises that a systems approach is indispensable, considering and integrating multiple scientific disciplines. UK universities and research institutions are at the forefront of photovoltaics innovation, materials and technologies, and our collaborative efforts are vital to addressing the global solar sector challenges towards significant increases in solar capacity. The UK’s photovoltaics community, with its depth and breadth of know-how and specialism, is uniquely well-placed to lead.
You can read about the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero’s Solar roadmap here: Solar roadmap: United Kingdom powered by solar (accessible webpage) – GOV.UK
