The Sunicon AG operates the world’s first pilot system for recycling all standard solar modules. The process for separating solar modules is based on recovering the intact silicon wafers or the broken silicon wafers as a raw material from the module assembly using special thermal process technology. The cells and modules made from recycled wafers fulfill all quality requirements of modern photovoltaic products.
Process sequence
- Component separation of the PV module in a thermal process step
- Disassembly of glass and frame parts with subsequent re-feeding into their individual recycling loops.
- Isolation of the solar cells
- Removal of surface coating and diffusion layers in subsequent cleaning steps
- Silicon wafers extracted by this method can be reprocessed into modern solar cells with a high degree of utilization. The efficiency of these cells matches the efficiency of cells made of new wafers.
Positive Energy Balance
The recycling solution for PV modules results in a positive balance, both from an economical and ecological point of view. The energy payback time for modules with recycled wafers is only 30 percent of that of new products with the same performance. The reason for this is the huge saving of the energy required to produce a new wafer. In addition, the scarce raw material high purity silicon is protected. By recycling cells from the 1980’s and thanks to improved technology, the new cells even reached an increased effective degree of 50 percent.
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