Towards a Circular PV Industry: Strategies and Innovations in PV Circularity

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Recording of Friday, June 21, 2024 | The smarter E Europe | Exhibition Program | Language: English | Duration: 80:12 .

The rapid growth of photovoltaic (PV) technology has led to significant advancements in renewable energy production. However, with this growth comes the challenge of managing the end-of-life of PV panels and ensuring the circularity of materials. Current PV modules on the market are not designed for circularity (meaning easy to disassemble, repair, refurbish, and recycle). They cannot be "re-opened" and the only way for recycling is through destructive processes such as shredding. The irreversible design severely limits repair/ refurbish potentials, as well as the recovery of valuable materials. Despite the advancements in technological research, there is currently a clear lack of business incentives for manufacturers to implement design-for-circularity. This session aims to explore strategies and innovations in PV circularity, focusing on PV module design for circularity and the state-of-art PV recycling solutions.

  • State of the Art of PV recycling

  • Technology and Innovation gaps for a circular PV value chain

  • Circularity by Design in PV Products

  • Towards a Circular PV Industry

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