A Clean, Green Way to Recycle Solar Panels

Solar panels are expected to reach end of their productive lives by 2050 .

Most recycling facilities trash the silicon, silver, and copper, and recover only aluminum frames and glass panes.

Italian startup 9-Tech operates its pilot plant out of a modified shipping container housed at the Green Propulsion Laboratory in the industrial port of Marghera in Venice .

The company uses no toxic chemicals, releases no pollutants into the environment.

9-Tech ’s recycling process can recover 90 percent of silver, 95 percent of the silicon, and 99 percent or more of the copper, aluminum, and glass from a PV module.

The process is more expensive than existing methods that recover only aluminum and glass.

The company's approach is one of many recycling methods for crystalline silicon PV panels in development.

The challenges with recycling have inspired researchers to rethink the way crystalline solar panels are made.

People should consider alternative ways to repair or reuse solar panels to extend their lives before resorting to recycling, says Heath .

“Recycling shouldn’t be the only strategy,” says Heath ..