PV module recycling

Renewable hardware that lasts longer and uses fewer materials could bolster recycling efforts and help to build an effective circular economy for solar and battery technologies, says the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Reclaim PV Recycling and the Circular PV Alliance (CPVA) have have agreed to jointly develop standards and testing procedures to support the reuse and resale of solar panels in Australia. Reclaim PV recently discovered that more than 31% of the solar panels collected in the Australian state of Queensland could be considered for reuse, rather than recycling.

Bangladesh currently does not have a recycling center for PV module recycling. But according to a group of local scientists, the country could evolve into a regional hub for PV waste recycling if proper guidelines are implemented.

French start-up Rosi Solar has developed an industrial solution claimed to be capable of recovering high purity silicon, silver and copper contained in end-of-life PV modules. The company’s technology is based on a pyrolysis process that makes it possible to isolate the different metals from the cells.

A preliminary ruling by the European Court of Justice states panel makers should not be responsible for electrical waste management costs in a seven-year period as the rules in place before the EU’s WEEE directive entered force, in 2012, permitted member states to place the obligation on panel users instead. The resulting change in law, in some states, cannot be applied retroactively, under EU legal rules.

Developed by Japanese PV equipment provider NPC Incorporated, the solar module disassembly line is claimed to enable the reuse of frames, junction boxes, intact broken glass, solar cells and EVA sheets.

A European consortium consisting of Italian energy agency Enea and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, among other entities, has developed a plan to build a low-emissions pilot line to recover critical and precious metals such as silicon, indium, gallium and silver. The line will be designed to reintroduce new materials and new products into the production cycle.

A new study proposes an ‘extended producer responsibility’ regulatory framework for end-of-life solar PV management in India.

An Indian research group has used three different chemicals instead of commonly used hydrofluoric acid to separate silicon from the cell. The technique is claimed to be able to deliver recycled silicon with a purity of up to 99.9984%.

The recovery of valuable raw materials from end-of-life solar panels and batteries presents a great opportunity for India to secure future supplies as the nation chases its ambitious renewable energy targets.