Recording of Thursday, May 08, 2025 | The smarter E Europe | Exhibition Program | Language: English | Duration: 15:40 .
Reiling PV Recycling Company, with over a century of recycling expertise and nearly 30 years in photovoltaic (PV) recycling, is at the forefront of global advancements in this field. Operating across 19 locations worldwide, Reiling specializes in glass and plastic recycling. In 2023, they launched Germany's first dedicated PV site in Münster to employ state-of-the-art mechanical techniques for extracting high-quality materials from solar modules. This facility can handle up to 50,000 tons annually but anticipates rapid market growth soon. Their innovative process involves crushing entire PV modules before separating components like aluminum frames using technologies such as automatic magnet sortation for ferrous metals. They are also working on optimizing silicon and silver recovery while tackling challenges related to foil residue processing. With an impressive overall recycling rate exceeding 85%, Reiling adheres strictly to European regulations by converting recycled outputs into new applications within industries like flat-glass manufacturing or battery production without compromising environmental standards. During Dr. Karsten Wambach’s presentation at GE4A Group, Jorge Amador raised concerns about recovering secondary raw materials post-recycling and queried whether their operations include thin film technology alongside silicon-based ones due to its complexity compared with crystalline silicon technology dominance; Dr. Wambach confirmed that current focus remains primarily on silicon-based technologies though partnerships exist for handling thin films through corporations like Reiling despite existing limitations hindering effective material processing capabilities across all facilities presently available under these circumstances today!
Automated summarization by AI Conver
Karsten Wambach
R&D consultant
on behalf of Reiling
20 years or so after the first solar boom in Germany and Europe, the industry is looking how to deal with the growing number of used modules. Despite the ramp-up of PV recycling, there are still some unknowns: What are the obligations and responsibilities when it comes to PV recycling? What will happen to PV modules at the end of their service life? What practicable and sustainable solutions are there, and how can raw materials be recovered?This sessions will be providing an overview of the legal and regulatory framework conditions governing PV recycling in Europe. It will show the role that module manufacturers, wholesalers and project developers play in the end-of-life management of PV modules. This will be followed by two recycling companies presenting the state of the art of their respective recycling method and its business case.
Further Talks of this session:
Speaker
Jan Clyncke
Managing Director
PV CYCLE
Speaker
Fridolin Franke
Business Development, Operations & Finance
Solar Materials
Video is not available.