RMIT’s Dr Ylias Sabri said while solar panels are helping to reduce carbon emissions, the infrastructure to scrap and effectively recycle them once they reach their end of life has been lacking.

“Solar panels have a lifespan of 25 to 30 years and contain valuable metals including silver and copper,” he said.

“But there’s historically been little interest in recovering these strategic metals from discarded panels as it’s difficult and expensive to do, so they end up in landfill.”

It’s hoped technology being developed by Sabri and his team could be part of the solution to improve the economic viability of recycling solar panels.

“RMIT is in a prime position to support this large and growing market and consequent job creation,” Sabri said.

The Integrating End of Life Solar Panel Waste in Circular Economy network is funded by the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (ICIRN000011).

It involves multidisciplinary teams of researchers and industry partners, including New York University, University of Castilla-La Mancha, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, King’s College London, EDIPAE, My Second Life Solar, HP Energy and others.

Story: Aеden Rаtcliffe

Masthead image: Adobe Stock (AI generated)