Photovoltaics and energy transition. Visions for 10 years, 30 years

This lecture will look at the development of photovoltaics in society and its capacity to respond massively and rapidly to the global energy transition, while respecting the environmental, economic and ethical criteria essential to the fight against climate change and the preservation of nature. While solar resources are more than sufficient to provide a major response to global energy demand, a fundamental question remains: what material resources are needed, and under what conditions can they be extracted, packaged and recycled, as well as the grey energy and carbon footprints , which must be rigorously addressed as part of life-cycle analyses, depending on the technology and application.
The presentation will review the current situation and current research. Various development scenarios for photovoltaics will be presented. An attempt will be made to forecast the medium and long term for photovoltaic technologies and new applications, such as seasonal (retractable) photovoltaics on land or in the air (or even in space).
Finally, we'll look at environmental and industrial issues, as well as the emergence of innovative business models (involving citizens' initiatives and collectives, and public policies).