Encapsulation strategies for mechanical impact and damp heat reliability improvement of lightweight photovoltaic modules towards vehicle-integrated applications

Lightweight modules are essential for next-generation vehicle-integrated photovoltaic (VIPV) applications, such as solar-powered cars, allowing integration of solar cells beyond the roof, and on the hood, boot and body panels, and thereby extending the driving range. However, the lightweight module's reliability and corresponding degradation mechanisms under various environmental stresses are less researched. In this work, we investigate interconnection and encapsulation strategies to improve reliability against damp heat and mechanical impact. We fabricated lightweight mini modules, weighing around 3.45 kg/m2, and conducted hail impact and damp heat tests. These tests result in different failures, such as cracks in the solar cell, module delamination, and microcracks in the backsheet. By carrying out failure mechanism analysis and altering the fiber reinforcement in backsheet and encapsulation materials, we can increase resilience to these failure modes, thus providing guidance for the design of lightweight PV modules for next-generation VIPV.