CHINA SOLAR PANEL RECYCLING MARKET FORECAST 2023-2030

Over the years, China has supported research and development (R&D) efforts in PV recycling technologies, with a focus on two recycling methods for c-Si PV as part of China’s National High-tech R&D Programme PV Recycling and Safety Disposal Research. These methods are based on either physical or thermal recycling techniques. While the National High-tech R&D Programme for PV Recycling and Safety Disposal Research has offered recommendations for creating policy guidelines to tackle PV waste challenges, China lacked specific regulations pertaining to solar panel recycling as of 2019. However, the country’s thirteenth Five-Year Plan for 2016-2020 outlined directives aimed at accelerating the end-of-life management of waste solar PV modules.

With a combination of government initiatives and substantial R&D activities in the realm of solar PV module recycling, significant opportunities are anticipated for market players to delve into China’s extensive and untapped solar panel recycling market. Therefore, the above-mentioned factors are set to boost the solar panel recycling market growth in the country during the forecasting years.

The China solar panel recycling market is segmented into type, process, and shelf life. The process segment includes thermal, mechanical, chemical, and laser. The chemical method of recycling solar panels is typically employed in conjunction with thermal and mechanical processes to enhance the efficiency and recovery rates of these processes. In this approach, chemical processes are initially utilized to some extent for separation and subsequently for refinement. During this phase, the removal of antireflection coatings, metal coatings, and p-n junctions is carried out to reclaim the silicon base material. The recovered silicon wafers find application in the production of new silicon solar cells.

While sole reliance on chemicals has proven inefficient for solar panel recycling due to extended etching periods, costly solvents, and relatively low efficiency, the chemical treatment also has the potential to generate adverse environmental impacts. In the context of recycling solar panels in combination with thermal and mechanical processes, chemical methods are employed to recover semiconductor materials. Additionally, chemical processes are applied to treat solar cells, as well as recover silver and aluminum components.

Some of the top companies operating in the China solar panel recycling market are Sharp Corporation, Silrec Corporation, Yingli Energy Co, etc.

Yingli Energy Co, headquartered in China, is one of the leading solar module manufacturers. It covers the entire photovoltaic value chain, including casting ingots and wafers through solar cell production as well as solar panel assembly. The company’s end products entail (PV) modules and PV systems of different sizes and power outputs. Its PV modules are sold under the brand names Yingli and Yingli Solar, primarily catering to PV systems integrators and distributors across various regions, including China, Europe, Turkey, India, the United States, Latin America, Australia, and the Middle East.