Dissertation

Towards secure and sustainable supply chains: a multi-perspective risk assessment for photovoltaics

Supply risks are not new. But the aggravation of power conflicts on the international stage coupled with global shifts towards energy transition and digitalization has triggered the next supply risk research era.

Author

E. Gervais

Date

04 April 2025

Links

Thesis in Leiden Repository

De-risking for strategic autonomy and sustainability is now high on the agenda of major economies. What should be de-risked, where, and how, needs to be informed by supply chain risk assessments.
This dissertation advances supply risk research by developing methodological tools for the assessment of security and sustainability risks from a supply chain perspective. Photovoltaics, a pillar of the energy transition, is used as a case-study. Material requirements, supply dependencies, and environmental, social, and governance risks in photovoltaic supply chains are investigated and the impact of supply diversification strategies such as reshoring and friendshoring is characterized.

• critical materials
• energy technology
• material flow analysis
• responsible sourcing
• supply chain risk assessment
• supply diversification
• sustainable development goals (sdg 16)