- Rosi SAS has secured equity investment from Itochu, EIC and EIT InnoEnergy worth €7.4 million
- It will be used by the company to set up its 1st industrial site to recycle 3,000 tons PV panels
- Production is expected to start in Q1/2023 when it will start separating high value raw materials to be used for advanced industrial uses
- Itochu said it is investing in the French company to promote and expand solar panel recycling business
French solar panel recycling company Rosi SAS has raised €7.4 million equity investment from Japanese trading house Itochu Corporation, the European Innovation Council (EIC) and its existing shareholder EIT InnoEnergy to finance its 1st industrial site to recycle solar panels in France.
Rosi plans to establish its industrial line in Saint-Honoré, in Isère with a capacity to recycle 3,000 tons of PV panels, starting from Q1/2023 with a team of 20 which will later be increased to around 50. Here it will deploy ‘disruptive technologies’ that it has been developing since 2017, to separate and purify high value raw materials as silicon, silver and copper and reusing these for advanced industrial uses.
The French company will use these funds along with those obtained under the France Relance program and a loan from BPI France to realize this project.
It plans to raise more finance in the future to strengthen its research and development efforts. Rosi wants to use the proceeds to also prepare its Europe and international expansion.
For Itochu, solar recycling will be a new area of solar PV as it is already engaged in the sale of solar panels and PV power generation equipment in Japan and globally, and also develops large scale solar projects.
The Japanese company specified that it has signed capital and business alliances with Rosi and subscribe to shared issued by Rosi by means of private placement with a view to promote and expand solar panel recycling business.
Pointing at expected growth in solar waste in Europe as well as in Japan in the years to come, Itochu stated, “Establishing an appropriate recycling chain for these waste solar panels represents a major challenge for the future, in order to introduce sustainable renewable energy solutions for creating a decarbonized society.”
Rosi management said the company will benefit from synergies with Itochu’s historical activities and will rely on its international network for its expansion.
Governments and businesses are looking at end-of-life use of solar panels whose capacity is estimated by Rystad Energy to grow to 27 million tons annually by 2040. It can help ease strain on the mining sector and reduce its CO2 in overall terms (see PV Recycling Market Worth $80 Billion By 2050).
