Trina Solar says it has successfully rolled out the world’s 1st fully recycled solar panel
It worked with upstream and downstream partners to recover silver powder from waste
This module demonstrates up to 20.7% efficiency and power output of more than 645W after testing
The Trina Solar Central Research Institute has successfully manufactured what the Chinese PV manufacturer claims is the world’s 1st fully recycled solar PV module. It was made with recycling materials recovered from dismantled waste PV modules.
This recycled gold-sized TOPCon module with 210N-66 configuration exhibited an efficiency of up to 20.7%, and a power output exceeding 645 W, after testing.
Explaining the process adopted, the manufacturer shared that it uses a self-developed cleaning agent to remove body/surface impurities from the broken silicon wafers recycled from the dismantled solar PV modules.
Silicon wafers with a similar performance are then obtained by adopting n-type monocrystalline direct pulling technology and combining it with a low-temperature impurity gettering process.
It also brought on board upstream and downstream partners to recover silver powder from the waste to prepare it for front fine grid slurry. According to the Trina institute, integrating high-resistance dense grid technology, silver paste and silicon wafers show good process characteristics during the printing process.
Glass and aluminum frames recovered from waste modules were used for the recycled module via secondary melting.
Trina Solar Chairman and CEO and President of the Central Research Institute said that the roll out of this recycled module is representative of the company’s innovation and its responsibility to promote circular economy of the PV industry.
The Chinese company said it has applied for 37 patents in the field of module recycling, including 11 authorized and published invention patents. For its recycled module, the company said it worked with partners in the China Green Supply Chain Alliance.
Recently, at the TaiyangNews Virtual Conference on Solar and Sustainability, Trina Solar’s Pia Alina Lange shared that the company is recycling more than 94% of waste at operational level (see TaiyangNews’ Conference On Solar & Sustainability 2024: ESG Topics High On Leading Manufacturers’ Agenda).
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