Spanish utility Iberdrola has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with industrial waste management company FCC Ámbito to promote the industrial-scale recycling of solar PV panels.
Within the framework of their collaboration, the companies will carry out the monitoring and potential application of new treatment technologies that could be developed in the short- or medium-term to improve recycling methods for solar panels.
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Both companies have extended their ongoing partnership in the wind industry with the creation of a company, EnergyLoop, for the recycling of wind turbines. In the solar PV field, FCC Ámbito recently opened a PV panel treatment plant near Zaragoza, north-eastern Spain.
Moreover, the partnership will also study calls for European or national public aid towards the promotion of modules. FCC Ámbito is currently leading the PV4INK R&D&I project, financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the EU’s Next Generation funds. This project is aimed at recovering the silver contained in modules.
Among the applications the companies will study is the possibility of reusing materials obtained in the treatment processes as secondary raw materials to be used in the manufacture of new solar panels.
Iberdrola entered into the manufacturing space last year, when it partnered with Spanish module manufacturer Exiom to build a tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) module assembly plant in Spain. The plant, which received the first equipment in October 2023 and is expected to be operational this Spring, will have an annual nameplate capacity of 500MW.
Solar manufacturers to recycle PV panels in EU
María Jesús Kaifer, technical director and head of circular economy at FCC Ámbito, said: “This strategic agreement is a continuation of our efforts in the search for the best technologies for the recovery of the resources contained in waste in order to incorporate them back into production processes.”
As the end life of the first solar PV projects are nearing, discussion continues around solar panel recycling. The European Council recently amended its Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, stating that solar module manufacturers will bear responsibility for the waste disposal and recycling of modules in the EU.
PV Tech Premium recently spoke with PV Cycle, a PV-focused producer compliance scheme based in Belgium, about misconceptions in the value of end-of-life materials and the precarious economic viability of reusing panels. The article also looked at several countries’ attempts – including India, Japan or Australia – to recycle and reuse solar panels.
