circular economy

Researchers at two Sydney universities have developed 24 new ways of evaluating the circular economy of PV modules to identify the merits of various strategies based on current and future energy, materials and silver use.

An international research team has developed a new machine that utilises shockwaves to separate the different materials of a PV module. Chemical processes can be further used to extract silicon and silver. Results show the recovery of more than 99.5% of the original weight of the panels.

Battery manufacturer Vaulta is using lessons learned from Australia’s growing off-grid energy sector to spearhead the development of its next-generation battery energy storage technology.

Trina Solar claims it has developed the world’s first “fully recyclable” 645 W PV module with 20.7% efficiency. It made the panel with interlayer separation reagents, chemical etching technology, and wet chemical silver extraction tech.

What happens to a solar PV module after its expected 25-year operational life? With about 2 TW of rooftop and utility-scale PV already deployed worldwide, and a large number of them being retired before operating for 15 years, the amount of PV modules being discarded is growing every year.

A new report has called for large PV waste and recycling facilities to be established in major Australian cities as a matter of priority with solar waste predicted to reach 100,000 tonnes annually, equivalent to 1.2 GW per year, by the end of the decade.

Battery technology company Lithium Australia’s 100%-owned subsidiary Envirostream is seeking to scale up its battery recycling efforts, signing an updated agreement with South Korean manufacturer LG Energy Solution in a move that could deliver 770 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries for recycling.

A team of engineers at the University of New South Wales say they have developed a new, more effective method for recycling end-of-life solar panels that allows them to quickly and efficiently separate 99% of PV cell component materials.

There were an estimated 100 million individual solar panels in Australia at the end of 2022. We estimate this number will likely grow to over 2 billion if we are to meet Australia’s 2050 net-zero emissions target. This growth means Australia is facing a 450,000-tonne mountain of used PV panels by 2040.

With the challenges associated with solar waste becoming increasingly significant, the New South Wales government has released an issues paper seeking to identify new economic value in the renewable energy transition while also ensuring the rollout of clean energy technologies is as environmentally sustainable as possible.