Towards a circular PV Industry: Strategies & Innovations in PV Circularity (Intersolar 2024)

With the support of VDMA, the event will take place on 21/06/2024 , 10:00-11:30 (PV Manufacturing Stage, Hall A2.409 Intersolar 2024***).

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.

Agenda

1. 10.00-10.10: Drivers for a circular PV Sector (Raffaele Rossi, SolarPower Europe)
2. 10.10-10.20: State of the Art of PV recycling  (Jan Clyncke, PV Cycle)
3. 10.20-10.30: Technology and Innovation gaps for a circular PV value chain (David Moser, R&C WG ETIP PV)
4. 10.30-10.40: Circularity by design in PV products (Laura Miranda, Oxford PV)
5. 10.45 -11.30: Towards a Circular PV Industry (Panel Discussion)

***A valid ticket to the Exhibition area of the Intersolar is needed to access to the session.