🍃 Solar panels aren’t waste anymore

Solar energy has transformed how we generate power.

Costs have fallen fast.

Adoption has surged.

But one quiet question has lingered in the background:

What happens to solar panels when they reach the end of their lives?

Researchers at the University of Newcastle think they’ve found part of the answer.

They’ve developed a low-tech method to recover silver from used solar panels without harsh chemicals. 

Panels are ground into fine powder, mixed with water, and the silver naturally separates and floats to the surface.

In just a few minutes, the process recovers more than 97% of the silver.

And silver is only the start.

The same approach could be used to recover other valuable materials currently locked inside end-of-life panels and urban waste.

At the same time, manufacturers like LONGi Green Energy Technology are beginning to move away from silver altogether, switching to base metals to drive costs down even further.

Put together, this is what maturity looks like.

Clean energy that not only scales, but takes responsibility for its full lifecycle.

Source: A renewables conundrum was cracked

Best,
Jasper