University Of Warwick Study Finds Cleaner Solar Panel Manufacturing Could Slash 8.2 Billion Tonnes Of Global CO₂ By 2035

A new international study has found that manufacturing next-generation solar panels could cut global carbon emissions by as much as 8.2 billion tonnes by 2035. The research was conducted by teams from the University of Warwick, Northumbria University, and the universities of Birmingham and Oxford.

Solar panels, or photovoltaics (PV), convert sunlight directly into electricity and are central to global decarbonisation efforts. As nations increasingly deploy solar power at multi-terawatt scales, attention is turning to the carbon footprint associated with panel manufacturing. At the same time, the industry is transitioning from the widely used passivated emitter rear cell (PERC) technology to a more efficient design known as tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) photovoltaics. Until now, the full environmental impact of this shift had not been comprehensively evaluated.

Published in Nature Communications, the study compares the full manufacturing lifecycle of PERC and TOPCon panels to assess whether the newer technology can reduce the environmental footprint as global solar deployment accelerates. Dr. Nicholas Grant, Associate Professor at the University of Warwick, explained, “Multi-terawatt scale photovoltaic manufacturing demands a sharper focus on its full environmental footprint. Our research demonstrates that targeted improvements across the supply chain can enable sustainable manufacturing at terawatt-scale, avoiding twenty-five gigatonnes of manufacturing-related CO₂ emissions if installed by 2035, while supporting rapid global deployment.”

Using life-cycle assessment modelling, the researchers found that producing TOPCon panels results in lower environmental impacts in fifteen out of sixteen categories compared with PERC panels. Specifically, TOPCon reduces climate-changing emissions by approximately 6.5% per unit of electricity generated. The only trade-off is higher silver consumption, which could affect critical mineral resources.

The study also emphasizes the importance of manufacturing location. Producing PV panels using low-carbon electricity—such as in Europe—significantly reduces emissions compared with production in regions dependent on fossil fuels. The researchers concluded that combining TOPCon adoption, supply chain improvements, and grid decarbonisation could reduce solar manufacturing emissions by up to 8.2 gigatonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2035, representing roughly 14% of current annual global emissions. Furthermore, PV systems installed between 2023 and 2035 could avoid more than 25 gigatonnes of carbon emissions by displacing fossil-fuel-based electricity.

Professor Neil Beattie of Northumbria University, the study’s senior author, highlighted the broader implications: “Solar photovoltaics is a critical technology that can be deployed globally to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy security. With electricity demand expected to rise over the next decade—driven by transport, heating, and digital infrastructure for AI—solar remains one of the lowest-impact and most sustainable electricity generation technologies over its full lifecycle. Even considering manufacturing emissions, the technology’s benefits far outweigh its impacts, and scaling deployment now is essential.”

This study reinforces the importance of adopting next-generation PV technologies, improving manufacturing processes, and integrating low-carbon grids to maximize solar energy’s role in achieving global climate goals.