Research Article 2026-04-22 under-review v1

Extending EXIOBASE through explicit solar PV supply-chain modelling: implications for the EU Net Zero Industry Act

L
Lorenzo Rinaldi Politecnico di Milano
R
Raffaele Merletti Politecnico di Milano
C
Camilla Citterio Politecnico di Milano
N
Nicolò Golinucci eNextGen s.r.l
M
Matteo Vincenzo Rocco Politecnico di Milano

Abstract

The photovoltaic (PV) supply chain is complex and characterised by strong geographic concentration. Assessing the environmental and socio-economic impacts of policies targeting its development requires modelling frameworks able to explicitly represent supply chain structures. While conventional process-based life-cycle assessment and top-down input-output models address this aspect only partially, our study develops a hybrid framework that integrates a process-based PV supply chain model into a multi-regional input-output table relying on the EXIOBASE database. The model is first verified against reference literature ranges of solar electricity carbon footprints and producer prices, showing hybrid representation yields robust results, limiting typical distortions of purely top-down models. The framework is applied to a European Net-Zero Industry Act scenario, where 40% of modules demand is supplied domestically. Results show that reshoring mainly affects downstream stages, while upstream production remains largely external, leading to moderate changes in consumption-based emissions and limited gains in EU value-added and employment.

Citation Information

@article{lorenzorinaldi2026,
  title={Extending EXIOBASE through explicit solar PV supply-chain modelling: implications for the EU Net Zero Industry Act},
  author={Lorenzo Rinaldi and Raffaele Merletti and Camilla Citterio and Nicolò Golinucci and Matteo Vincenzo Rocco},
  journal={Journal of Industrial Ecology},
  year={2026},
  doi={https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9121075/v1}
}
Back to Top
Home
Paper List
Submit
0.023385s