The Australian Research Council (ARC) Hub for Photovoltaic Solar Panel Recycling and Sustainability has officially opened at UNSW in Sydney.
The hub is the first research initiative in Australia dedicated to developing a circular solar economy, and funded by a $5 million grant from ARC’s Industrial Transformation Research program.
UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise Professor Bronwyn Fox said the new hub reflected the Uuniversity’s commitment to tackling the most pressing challenges of our time, through world-leading research and deep collaboration with industry.
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“Photovoltaic waste in Australia is predicted to reach 100,000 tonnes annually by 2030. As we accelerate towards a net-zero future, we must ensure the technologies enabling that transition are themselves sustainable,” Prof Fox said.
“This hub brings together world-leading Australian engineers, scientists, policy makers and industry to transform end-of-life solar panels from an emerging waste challenge into a valuable resource, helping build a circular economy and strengthening Australia’s clean energy leadership.”
Hub director Professor Yansong Shen said there was an urgent need for a strong solar panel recycling industry, as many of Australia’s 3.5 million solar installations would reach end-of-life in the next decade.
“End-of-life solar panels contain many valuable materials like glass, silicon, silver and copper. Our goal is to move these panels away from landfill and towards recycling in a circular economy where materials are recovered and reused,” he said.
Initiatives already underway at the hub include finding better ways to recover valuable materials from old solar panels, developing improved technologies to separate and sort panel components more efficiently and redesigning panels so they’re easier to recycle.
The hub will also advance policy by creating a network of researchers who will improve the entire value chain of solar panel production.
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“We want to help build a robust recycling industry in Australia that creates jobs, supports new supply chains and improves our sustainable energy security,” Prof Yansong said.
“We will know we’ve achieved our objectives when solar panel waste is no longer seen as a problem, but as part of a sustainable system.”
