New-generation photovoltaic technologies (TOPCon, SHJ, tandems) are particularly sensitive to environmental stressors, including humidity (Damp Heat, DH), UV radiation, and thermal cycling. These stresses accelerate the degradation of encapsulation materials (EVA, POE, TPO), leading to performance losses in modules—such as reduced transparency, delamination, metal contact corrosion, and Potential-Induced Degradation (PID). Despite their increasing adoption, these novel encapsulants lack long-term durability data, while widely used EVA exhibits premature aging (degradation after 10–15 years of exposure). The combined degradation mechanisms (DH + UV + temperature) remain understudied, yet they reflect real-world exposure conditions
This thesis aims to identify and understand the physicochemical degradation mechanisms of polymer encapsulants under coupled stressors, focusing on:
- Multi-scale analysis (chemical structure, optical properties, microstructure) of materials during accelerated aging
- Development of an experimental protocol replicating real-world conditions (coupled DH/UV stress) to assess material resilience
- Study of additive roles in encapsulant degradation, including UV absorbers, peroxides etc.