Solar Panel Recycling Market

According to incomplete statistics, the volume of retired photovoltaic modules will gradually emerge by 2025. It is projected to enter a period of rapid growth by 2030, with the retired volume exceeding ten million tonnes by 2040. The corresponding recycling market scale is expected to reach hundreds of billions of yuan. However, investigations reveal that although the global photovoltaic recycling industry has attracted some residual recycling enterprises, it still faces multiple bottlenecks including insufficient retired volume, high costs, optimisation of technical routes, and the establishment of industry standards. The standardised, scaled development of this hundred-billion-yuan market necessitates collaborative solutions from policy makers, industry stakeholders, and enterprises. Against this backdrop, solar panel recycling machinery has emerged, enabling efficient recovery of valuable materials from end-of-life photovoltaic panels.

Solar Panel Recycling Market

Market Trends

The global photovoltaic industry commenced large-scale commercialisation around 2010. Solar panels typically have a lifespan of 25-30 years, with the first wave of mass-installed panels entering concentrated decommissioning around 2030. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, decommissioning volumes will peak by 2030. With numerous photovoltaic manufacturing and recycling enterprises worldwide, the market prospects are highly promising.

Policy Support

Numerous countries and regions have now incorporated solar PV panel recycling into national legislation. The European Union’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) explicitly mandates that manufacturers of solar PV panels must recycle end-of-life panels. Many departments have also successively introduced policies to accelerate the refinement of solar PV panel recycling and treatment systems. Coupled with increasingly stringent national ‘dual carbon’ targets and environmental policies, these developments lay a solid foundation for the growth of the solar PV panel recycling industry.

Recycling Profitability

Photovoltaic modules contain numerous recyclable materials: aluminium, silicon, glass, silver, copper, plastics, and more. Through processing by solar panel recycling machinery, components such as aluminium frames, glass, silicon powder, copper, and plastics are separated. The overall recovery rate can exceed 95%. Recycling prices range from several hundred to several thousand US dollars per tonne, presenting significant profit potential.

In summary, driven by policy support, high recycling profits, and market trends, the solar photovoltaic panel recycling industry holds promising prospects. This sector is highly worthy of investment. Should you wish to learn more about solar panel recycling machinery, please do not hesitate to contact us.