Solar module recycling body PV Cycle has signed a deal to begin recycling PV products across Latin America, initially focusing on Brazil.
The deal was signed with Brazilian solar recycling firm SunR, which claims to be the first such company in the country. PV Cycle said it will financially support SunR’s expansion in Brazil and the wider LATAM region as part of its ongoing business development plan.
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The two companies did not disclose financial or operational plans for the deal, or a timeframe for collaboration.
“The Brazilian PV market is the natural fit for our expansion: a 46GW market with an intensive track record in PV Systems installation and a high environmental commitment on the part of consumers and companies”, said Jan Clyncke, managing director of PV Cycle.
The company—which is based in Belgium—spoke to PV Tech Premium earlier this year about the global landscape of PV recycling operations. The practice has faced challenges in getting attention and investment, partly due to the lifespan of solar modules, which can last up to 25 years.
Nonetheless, the proliferation of solar PV worldwide and the rapid pace of solar technology development have massively increased the need for effective recycling facilities, as discussed in a feature published by PV Tech Premium last year.
A relatively unknown entity until now, SunR claims to have contracted over 160,000 tonnes of PV material for recycling to date. It promotes what it calls “reverse logistics” for solar modules, which aims to collect and treat waste products with a view to reincorporating them into the supply chain—similar to the notion of a circular economy.
Leonardo Gasparini Duarte, CEO of SunR Reciclagem Fotovoltaica, said: “SunR welcomes the significant support of PV Cycle today, which is the result of a relationship which started five years ago; we look forward to the opening of our third location in Brazil next to our two current facilities in Valinhos and Montes Claros and the business development in Chile and Mexico in the short term.”
