Project description
Innovative recycling solution turns solar waste into gold
With the push for clean solar energy, the disposal of photovoltaic (PV) panels has become a critical issues. By 2050, it is estimated that global PV panel waste will accumulate to 78 million tonnes. Despite containing valuable materials like silver and silicon, current recycling methods fall short and often discard these resources. This oversight not only squanders an estimated billions of euro’s worth of opportunity but also exacerbates environmental concerns. In this context, the EIC-funded PRISM project aims to revolutionise recycling using a thermo-mechanical process. The project plans an industrial-scale plant in Germany, processing 8,400 tonnes annually by 2025. With global expansion, PRISM is a step towards a sustainable energy future.
Objective
IRENA (2016) estimates that the cumulative PV panels waste volumes will reach 78M tons by 2050 (8M. tons by 2030). PV panels contain silver and silicon, which if recycled, represent a source of valuable and critical raw materials for the energy transition ($80B by 2050). Today, many recycling facilities only recover bulk materials like aluminum frames and low-quality front glass. The remaining material is often incinerated, disposed, or down-cycled, even though it contains silver and silicon, which together account for two-thirds of the monetary value of a silicon PV panel’s materials.
To take advantage of this opportunity, SOLAR MATERIALS has developed a patented layer-by-layer thermo-mechanical recycling process based on infra-red heating to de-laminate and recover all valuable raw materials contained in PV panels. SOLAR MATERIALS’ recycling process is the 1st in the world to recover all raw materials from solar modules in an economical and energy-efficient way. This enables us to achieve the highest profitability in the industry (EBITDA margin of 50%), even with recycling fees at 50% lower of that of current prices.
Solar park owners (Enerparc) and leading metal smelters and refineries in Europe (Stemin, Umicore) have already formally expressed their interest in our recycling services and material products. Moreover, we have validated our sales prices with quotes and analysis for glass (PreZero, Reiling), copper cables (Remondis), aluminum (Stemin, Hydro), silver (Umicore) and silicon (Circular Silicon).
With this project, we will setup and operate an industrial-sized commercial PV module recycling plant in Germany with capacity to process 8,400 tons of PV panel waste per year. By 2033, we expect to own and operate 33 recycling facilities globally, with a cumulated annual capacity of 277M tons. By then, we would have recovered 710 tons of silver, 46,381 tons of silicon, and 215,237 tons of aluminum, accounting for over 4.5M tons of avoided CO2-eq emissions.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwaste managementwaste treatment processesrecycling
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metals
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringmining and mineral processing
- engineering and technologymaterials engineering
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrymetalloids
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-EIC-ACC-BF - HORIZON EIC Accelerator Blended FinanceCoordinator
39114 MAGDEBURG
Germany
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.