Project description
A new perspective for recycling photovoltaics
Waste from electrical and electronic equipment such as fridges and mobile phones are one of the fastest growing waste streams. In Europe, there is a significant increase in waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) for recent technologies such as photovoltaic (PV) devices. These products are designed as complex sandwiches, making the recovery of the critical and precious raw materials encapsulated in the layers extremely challenging. The EU-funded PHOTORAMA project will draw up a profitable and sustainable circular value chain that will lead to a carbon neutral PV industry. Specifically, it will develop and demonstrate the industrial prospect for recovering and recycling desirable materials and components from end-of-life PV panels.
Objective
Since the last decades, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) have been drastically increasing in Europe, particularly for recent technologies such as Photovoltaic (PV) devices. These products are designed as complex sandwiches, which make the recovery of the critical (Si, In, Ga) and precious (Ag) raw materials encapsulated in the layers extremely challenging.
The overall objective of PHOTORAMA is to draw up a profitable and sustainable circular value chain that will lead to a carbon neutral PV industry. PHOTORAMA will develop and demonstrate the industrial prospective of recycling solutions to recover and recycle all the materials ‘components from End-of-life PV panels. A complementary consortium of 13 European companies and research institutes has built the framework of PHOTORAMA as follow:
(1) the development of innovative processes and technologies from TRL4-5 to TRL7 to establish a sound recycling scheme to increase significantly resource efficiency with decisive cost-cutting solutions. The implementation of automated disassembly and sandwich opening as layer separation (MONDRAGON, DFD, CEA) enabling high-recovery (> 95%) of secondary raw materials: Ag, Si (SINTEF, CEA, IDENER) and In, Ga (LUXCHEMTECH) from EoL PV panels (crystalline silicon, thin films),
(2) the full-circularity approach emphasised from collection (SOREN) to marketable new products from Si, In, Ga, Ag (RHP), glass (MALTHA) mainly for PV manufacturing (EGP),
(3) the demonstration of the business viability and attractiveness of its technological solutions (BIFA, ENEA) as one of the most competitive perspective for PV recycling.
PHOTORAMA will strengthen this ambitious model with environmental impacts assessments and a strategic dissemination and exploitation plan supported by a strong effort for raising societal awareness (ZSI). The implementation of PHOTORAMA recycling scheme would unlock already more than 100,000 tons of valuable secondary raw materials by 2030.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwaste managementwaste treatment processesrecycling
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcoating and films
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrymetalloids
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energysolar energyphotovoltaic
Keywords
Programme(s)
Call for proposal
H2020-LOW-CARBON-CIRCULAR-INDUSTRIES-2020
See other projects for this callSub call
H2020-LCCI-2020-EASME-twostage
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
75015 PARIS 15
France