The increasing prominence of perovskites in the PV manufacturing industry poses a series of questions, not least of which is the environmental impact of their production.
Perovskites potentially offer high-efficiency solar generation at a much lower cost than current technologies and their production would likely have lower material and energy requirements – and therefore a lower carbon footprint – than crystalline silicon. But the presence of lead and the use of solvents in the production of perovskite solar cells represent significant concerns.