Valorisation of end-of-life photovoltaic panels

The company has extensive know-how in the field of recycling photovoltaic panels that have reached the end of their life through the implementation of both mechanical pre-treatments and physical-chemical treatments aimed at recovering material with high added value (glass, metal contacts, aluminum and plastics). The company owns two patents for the treatment of this waste (EP2997169B1: Process for treating spent photovoltaic panels; EP4259408A1: Plastics and glass recovery from end-of-life photovoltaic panels).

The great experience acquired over the years has made Eco Recycling a leading company in the treatment of the following types of photovoltaic panels:

• Silicon-based panels;
• Cd-Te based panels;
• Thin film panels (CIGS, kesterite, perovskite, organic and dye-sensitized).

In particular, regarding this sector, Eco Recycling has implemented the following international and national projects:

International projects

• EVEN CLOSER: “Involvement of less developed regions to strengthen the closer circular value chain for chips and microlectronics production”
• MENTOR: “Indoor photovoltaics: towards an energy and climate-neutral world“
• CUSTOM-ART: “Disruptive kesterites-based thin film technologies CUSTOMised for challenging ARchiTectural and active urban furniture applications”
• PHOTOLIFE: “Process and automated pilot plant for simultaneous and integral recycling of different kinds of photovoltaic panels”

National projects

• PHOTOBATRIC: “Process for recycling end-of-life car batteries and photovoltaic panels”.
• O.RI.FO: “Optimization of a zero-waste treatment for the recycling of photovoltaic modules at the end of their life”
• PHOTOREC: “Development of an innovative process for the recycling of photovoltaic solar panels at the end of their life”