Recovering silicon from Europe’s end-of-life solar panels won’t meaningfully cut import reliance unless the region’s ingot and wafer manufacturing base grows to absorb it, a SINTEF Industry researcher tells pv magazine.
A new SINTEF Industry study estimates secondary silicon recovered from end-of-life crystalline silicon PV modules could support 35.6 GW to 62.9 GW of new solar manufacturing capacity in the European Union by 2040, though researchers say Europe’s limited ingot and wafer industry remains the key bottleneck.
Nagarajan Somi Ganesan, a researcher at SINTEF Industry, said the European Union could generate between 71.4 kilotons and 125.8 kilotons of secondary silicon from end-of-life crystalline silicon PV waste by 2040, enough to manufacture an estimated 35.6 to 62.9 GW of new PV capacity. SINTEF is one of Europe’s largest independent research institutes, based in Norway.
Somi Ganesan said Europe’s ability to utilize recovered silicon domestically depends on the successful expansion of its upstream PV supply chain.
“Several ingot and wafer projects, including Sunwaf in Spain (20 GW) and BEE Solar/Huasun in Italy (3 GW), indicate growing manufacturing capacity,” he said. “If realized, recovered silicon from end-of-life PV modules could help reduce reliance on primary silicon.”
