Recycling of Photovoltaic Modules for a Sustainable Value Chain

The recycling of solar modules is an important aspect of sustainability in the solar industry. Solar modules contain various materials, including silicon, glass, metals, and plastics, which can be recycled to conserve resources and reduce waste. The joint project “RETRIEVE” addresses this issue and aims to contribute to Europe's independence from raw materials. The project partners want to recover valuable resources for photovoltaic modules manufactured in Europe from the predicted influx of obsolete modules, thereby promoting the growth of the European photovoltaic recycling industry.

The approach pursued in “RETRIEVE” aims to reduce dependence on primary raw materials through the circular use of resources. Innovative and flexible recovery technologies are to be developed for each component of silicon-based photovoltaic modules. The aim is to maintain specifications while reducing the environmental impact of recycling processes. Important steps in this process include glass recycling in accordance with current standards, the cleaning of production waste and end-of-life silicon, the recovery of silver and heavy metals, and the development of options for reusing or recycling recycled plastic in a way that preserves its value as much as possible through carbon capture.

The Fraunhofer CSP is involved in material analysis at all key stages of material recovery and recycling, particularly for glass, silicon, and metals. This involves the use of state-of-the-art equipment for material analysis and characterization, including inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), an analytical method for inorganic elemental analysis, and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), which enables in-line analysis of elemental contents.