Theme lead

Professor Ana Costa

Professor of Sustainable Architecture

I am interested in understanding how the built environment can respond to current societal and environmental challenges and take users' perspectives into consideration. My research focus lies on enabling a circular economy in the construction sector through materials reuse and digital material passports. My current research focuses on material reuse, prioritising deconstruction over demolition, design for disassembly, and end-of-life decommission processes and practices.

ERALD I

Project Description | The primary aim of ERALD I is to address the challenge of managing the end-of-life of photovoltaic (PV) systems, particularly in the UK. We have set two main objectives to guide our work: 1) Produce Materials Passports for a Solar Farm, considering possible design alternatives and mapping out decisions for the end of the renewable asset's life. 2) Create a generic Materials Passports template for solar farms and develop a toolkit implementation guide. These objectives are crucial for ensuring efficient and sustainable management of PV waste, which is a growing concern as PV systems reach their end of life.

Project Funder | Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF), a FTSE 250 solar-focused investment fund

Research Team | Professor Ana Rute Costa (PI), Dr Rabia Charef (0.2FTE) (Senior Research Associate), Beth Jones (0.8 FTE) (Research Associate)

Industry Input | Georgia Whitehouse (Bluefield) and Emma Silcocks (Bluefield)

ERALD II

Project Description | The "End of Renewable Asset Life Decisions II" (ERALD-II) project developed a comprehensive roadmap for managing the end-of-life phase of renewable energy assets. As first-generation renewable technologies approach their end of life, they often end up in landfills, revealing a critical need for better decommissioning and circular economy practices. The main outputs of this project are the policy paper summary and roadmap and the white paper that presents the main challenges to achieve a circular solar PV sector and highlights potential solutions, providing recommendations for industry and policy makers. Our primary focus is on Crystalline Silicon (c-Si) PV Panels, representing 95% of the PV industry market worldwide.

Project Funder | EPSRC IAA at Lancaster University and Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF), a FTSE 250 solar-focused investment fund

Research Team | Professor Ana Rute Costa (PI), Dr Rabia Charef (0.8FTE) (Senior Research Associate), Beth Jones (0.2 FTE) (Research Associate), Professor Alona Armstrong (Co-I), Dr David Cheneler (Co-I), Dr John Fielden (Co-I)

Industry Input | Georgia Whitehouse (Bluefield) and Emma Silcocks (Bluefield)

ERALD Working Group

Working Group Description | The end-of-life (EOL) of photovoltaic (PV) panels is a critical, emerging, and inherently interdisciplinary research field that integrates insights and methodologies from engineering, environmental science, economics, sociology, and policy. Therefore, at Lancaster University we have a group of experts in this field that meet regularly and discuss ways of tackling end of renewable asset Life challenges.

Funder | Energy Lancaster

Working Group Members from Lancaster University | Dr Georgiana Allison, Professor Alona Armstrong, Dr Rabia Charef, Dr David Cheneler, Professor Ana Rute Costa, Dr Josiane Fernandes, Dr John Fielden, Martin Gilmore, Dr Alexandra Gormally-Sutton, Professor Andrew Kennedy, Professor Katy Mason, Dr Dermot O’Reily, Professor Kathryn Toghill.