The latest report from the IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Program (IEA-PVPS) on solar panel recycling provides a comprehensive overview of all existing technologies in this market segment, from pure mechanical recycling to innovative techniques such as light pulse treatment, water jet cleaning and pyrolysis and chemical treatments.
A new report of the International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Program (IEA-PVPS) describes the growth of dedicated end of life of solar energy PV recycling activity, with an overview of equipment manufacturers and recyclers, as well as trend information on patents and research publications. It also provides early life cycle inventory (LCI) information from several commercial recyclers in the US and Europe.
The report details 177 commercial PV material recyclers and equipment suppliers, versus 25 companies identified in a Study from 2017. “It is exciting to see the progress over roughly six years in the number of recyclers with dedicated PV solutions since the last report,” corresponding author Cara Libby, technical director at the US-based Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI ). told pv magazine.
Several recyclers have provided life cycle inventory (LCI) data on recycling processes, energy consumption and material recovery. Three of them were from Germany: Reiling Glas Recycling, LuxChemtech and Flaxres, two from France, ROSI and Envie 2E Aquitaine, plus Italy-based Tialpi, Japan-based NPC and US-based First Solar.
Looking at recycling data for both crystalline silicon (c-Si) and thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) activity, the report said: “Most processes are still in development or pilot phase, with the exception of several mechanical process technologies for c-Si modules. and First Solar’s recycling plants in the United States, Vietnam, Malaysia and Germany for CdTe modules.” Reported recycled volumes ranged from 1,000 tons/yr to 50,000 tons/yr.
The mechanical recycling, grinding and crushing methods are the original and probably the most established and understood, but the results are not yet very pure. “We are seeing an investment in specialty equipment and new technologies, some of which are also being scaled up,” Libby said, highlighting water jet cleaning to remove backing sheets, light pulse treatment to melt laminates so they can be peeled, pyrolysis techniques, hot knives and chemical methods.
When pv magazine When asked whether the PV industry itself could ultimately become the largest market for the recovered materials, Libby replied: “It is indeed a very large market, but due to purity issues it can be challenging to repurpose materials such as silicon into new products. to use. The same may apply to glass. Reuse in the PV industry requires materials of very high purity.”
Patent activities and technology publishing
The team identified relevant patents and literature in the field of PV recycling technology and noted a “steep” increase in activity. A global patent search identified 456 patents, with 80% of patents focused on recycling processes for silicon-based modules, cell metals, polymers, glass or devices.
Companies with the most patents were identified and ranked by the Korea Institute of Energy Research, followed by China’s Suzhou Goldway Technologies, First Solar and Yingli, a Chinese module manufacturer. The next three companies on the ranking were from Japan: Tattori Resource Recycling, NPC, which supplies equipment for the production and recycling of PV systems, and Daikin Industries.
In the country ranking by patent activity, China is at the top with 141, followed by Japan with 85, South Korea with 79, the US with 54 and 33 for Germany.
The global literature search yielded 569 relevant articles and publications. The report noted that the number of publications has “increased sharply since 2010,” which correlates with the “number of newly installed PV capacities” coupled with “discussions and implementations” of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) regulations in Europe . “Many countries are considering PV waste policies, and interest in research is high,” the report said.
This content is copyrighted and may not be reused. If you would like to collaborate with us and reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
