Solarcycle Raises $6.6 Million In Growth Funding

• Solarcycle has raised $6.6 million growth funding to enable it scale advanced recycling operations in North America
• It plans to use its proprietary technology to start handling millions of solar systems that are set to retire at the end of their working life
• Investors for this round include Peter and Lyndon Rive, Tom Dinwoodie, Urban Innovation Fund and Closed Loop Partners

Solar panel recycling start-up Solarcycle, Inc in the US has raised growth funding of $6.6 million from a host of investors including SolarCity founders Peter and Lyndon Rive brothers and former CEO/CTO of SunPower Corporation Tom Dinwoodie.

Other investors comprise Urban Innovation Fund and Closed Loop Partners, announced the company.

Solarcycle says its proprietary technology can help extract valuable metals as silver, silicon, copper and aluminum, and recycle or repurpose 95% of panels in operation currently. Peter Rive said, "Increasing amounts of solar panels are being replaced with newer versions. The older panels have high value metals like silver, aluminum, and high-grade silicon. I invested because Solarcycle has a recycling system that could enable high volume, cost-effective recycling of solar panels at scale."

The company's CEO Suvi Sharma said the funding will enable the company to 'scale our advanced recycling operations in North America, enabling us to start handling the millions of solar systems that will be retiring in the coming years'.

Closed Loop Partners' Managing Director Danielle Joseph added, "We look forward to seeing them advance their climate-friendly and cost-effective platform to return more than 95% of all the valuable materials back into the solar supply chain."

Solarcycle is currently using 2^nd life panels from US residential solar company Sunrun to innovate, reuse, upcycle retired solar panels from the company's portfolio. "This partnership will pave the way for a scalable solution that will be available to the entire industry by year's end," stated Solarcycle during its launch.

The startup was founded in May 2022 by solar PV and environment industry professionals as ex-Solaria CEO Suvi Sharma, Jesse Simons who worked with Sierra Club previously, and e-waste recycling researcher and lecturer at the University of New South Wales (NSW), Dr Pablo Ribeiro Dias. It counts PV Evolution Labs' (PVEL) Jenya Meydbray and Eden Renewables' Director of Project Development Gillian Black among its advisors.