Swinburne University leads global solar panel recycling research project

Swinburne University of Technology will lead a global research program using robots to keep solar panels out of landfill and recycle them.

Akbar Rhamdhani, Professor at Swinburne Universityof Technology will manage a consortium of partners on the Zero-Carbon and Circular Solar PV Recycling (Si-Zero) project.

Also involved is the Indian Institute of Technology (ITT) Hyderabad, Indonesia’s Gadjah Mada University and BRIN (the country’s national research and innovation agency), and Sadoway Labs Foundation in the United States.

Australia alone faces the possibility of one million tonnes of dead solar panels entering the waste stream by 2050. Rhamdhani said they must be recycled into new panels.

“Silicon is a critical mineral, and we need very high-grade versions of it to produce more solar panels, along with many other technologies,” said Rhamdhani.

“In a traditional process, we use carbon and extremely high temperatures to reduce raw silica to metallurgical-grade silicon. It’s very energy intensive and takes a lot of time. Recycling can bypass this.”

However, recycling the panels and components has its challenges. The silicon must again be made extremely pure, up to 99.99 per cent and requires manual labour to dismantle the panels and remove wires.

Rhamdhani and his team are working towards a future where much of this work is done in bulk by robots, with processing powered by green energy and electricity.

“We are developing a process that is quite clean, with a no or very low carbon footprint,” he said.”

Bintang Nuraeni, Researcher at Swinburne University of Technology, said the program is the first of its kind.

“It brings together international expertise to develop zero-carbon processes for recovering high-purity silicon and other valuable materials from end-of-life solar panels, strengthening the foundation for a sustainable and circular solar industry,” said Nuraeni.

The global waste stream for solar photovoltaics (PV) is set to reach 78 million tonnes by 2050. In countries like Indonesia and India, the efforts could make solar more accessible at lower prices.

“Recycling end-of-life panels can reduce import dependency, cut production costs and lower environmental impact,” said Ashok Kamaraj, Assistant Professor at IIT Hyderabad.

“Establishing silicon recovery infrastructure will support a circular economy, strengthen domestic manufacturing, and align with India’s Make in India, clean energy and sustainability goals.”

With local industry partner, clean energy provider, Greenko, IIT Hyderabad will develop new methods, and help partners become regional leaders in solar panel production and recycling.

With funding secured, foundational work is set to commence. The project will involve 10 PhD students and five research fellows across the four countries.

For more information, visit: www.swinburne.edu.au/