RETRIEVE: Transforming Solar Panel Waste into High-Value Materials
What happens to Europe’s growing stock of end-of-life solar panels — and how can we turn this challenge into new value?
Every year, more photovoltaic (PV) modules reach the end of their lifetime. Without circular solutions, Europe faces a rapidly increasing volume of solar waste. RETRIEVE addresses this challenge by redefining how photovoltaic materials are recovered, reused, and reintegrated into new manufacturing processes.
This video introduces the RETRIEVE project and its mission to transform PV waste into high-value products, contributing to a more sustainable and circular solar industry in Europe.
RETRIEVE is working to:
• Develop and demonstrate cost-effective recycling technologies for all PV components
• Recycle glass back to PV-grade specifications
• Purify silicon waste from production and end-of-life panels to solar-grade quality
• Recover silver and heavy metals through sustainable, low-impact processes
• Valorise polymers using carbon-capture technologies
• Create a Digital Product Passport (DPP) to enable transparency, traceability, and circular business models across the solar value chain
By closing the loop and reducing the environmental footprint of solar energy, RETRIEVE is helping build a truly circular PV value chain made in Europe.
Learn more about the project:
https://www.retrieveproject.eu/
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