📋 Tender Overview
Grant agreement ID: 101325883
DOI
10.3030/101325883
EC signature date
30 September 2026
Start date
1 January 2027
End date
31 December 2029
Funded under
Climate, Energy and Mobility
Objective
LASSO – Lifetime Advancement of Silicon Solar PV Operation – addresses a critical challenge in the European PV sector: the gap between rapid deployment of high-efficiency c-Si technologies (TOPCon, HJT, IBC) and their long-term reliability under real operating conditions. Premature failures, accelerated degradation and mechanical damage threaten energy yield, sustainability and bankability. LASSO aims to extend module lifetimes beyond 40 years with degradation rates =-0.3%/year and lower LCOE to =5 €ct/kWh through an integrated LASSO loop , linking field degradation signals, structured root-cause analysis and targeted mitigation. The project establishes machine-interpretable, graph-based failure models and FAIR-compliant databases to prioritise critical degradation modes. Based on this knowledge, LASSO develops and validates material-based mitigation strategies at mini-module level, including reinforced glass with anti-soiling coatings, tailored encapsulants with photon-multiplying additives, and reliability-enhancing polymeric interlayers. Innovations are screened using harmonised multi-stressor accelerated testing and validated in industrial prototypes deployed across three European climates. To address mechanical reliability gaps, LASSO introduces realistic stone and hail impact testing and advanced FEM simulations. In parallel, physics-informed, explainable AI tools integrate electrical, environmental and multi-modal imaging data for probabilistic fault detection, causal diagnosis and quantitative performance loss estimation, integrated within a comprehensive PV rating system. LASSO embeds lifetime into life cycle assessment (LCA) and levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) modelling, providing decision-support tools for repowering. LASSO directly supports the Solar Energy Joint Research and Innovation agenda, strengthening European leadership through scientific excellence and knowledge transfer to standardisation bodies and international expert networks
