2020 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Early-Stage Sustainability Assessment of Carbon-Nanotubes-Enabled Renewable Energy Technologies using Ex-Ante LCA and Sound Material-Cycle Index
| Project/Area Number |
20K20023
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| Research Institution | Waseda University |
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Principal Investigator |
ティア ヘンイ 早稲田大学, 理工学術院, 次席研究員(研究院講師) (70822485)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
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| Keywords | Life Cycle Assessment / Thin-film c-Si PV / Rapid Vapor Deposition |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) material can revolutionize renewable energy technologies due to its superior mechanical strength and current conducting property. This project aims to investigate the environmental performance of such emerging technologies to provide timely advice to R&D communities. This year, we have completed an evaluation of CNT-enabled thin-film c-Si solar cells. The Si film was prepared via a novel rapid vapor deposition method instead of existing Si wafer making process. The effects of (a) kerf loss avoidance, and (b) lower energy requirement, would significantly reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of Si-based solar cells; from 180 to 17 kg CO2e per m2 of silicon. This implied that the technology is promising to improve the overall impact and cost of future solar panels.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The project is progressing rather smoothly with minimal impact from the recent COVID pandemic. We expect to complete the Objective 1 - develop ex-ante LCA for lab-scale CNT-enabled devices - including a thin-film c-Si solar cell and a Li-S battery in the first two years.
(1) We have completed the first part - analysis for the solar cell - with the help of a graduated student. We are preparing a manuscript submission to share the findings.
(2) We have recently started the second part - analysis for the battery. We are working on a model based on the partnering lab experiment data.
Overall, with the strong technical support from our collaborators, we were able to progress well with the environmental evaluation of the CNT-enabled renewable energy technologies.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
In the second year, we plan to conduct the LCA on Li-S battery. Our collaborator has developed a new Li-S full cell, which replace conventional metal current collector and binder with CNT material, at lab scale (the manuscript is currently under peer review). We plan to evaluate the prospective environmental impact of Li-S battery based on the technology described in the manuscript. In addition, we plan to invite another research group specialized on battery technology to obtain a more realistic estimation on pilot-scale battery production facilities.
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