Solar energy is recognized as a representative eco-friendly energy source worldwide, but concerns about environmental damage due to waste module treatment have been raised.

Based on the Korea Energy Agency's statistics on the supply of solar waste modules, the number of solar waste modules is expected to increase sharply from 2023 and more than 10,000 tons of waste modules are expected every year from 2028 as a result, the government announced the introduction of extended producer responsibility (EPR) for waste solar modules from 2023, which means the demand for waste module treatment has been confirmed.

So far, in recycling waste PV modules, it is common to shred or landfill all materials except the aluminum frames, but WonKwang S&T, through a technical partnership with the Korea Institute of Energy Research, uses crystalline silicon-based solar module recycling technology to separate old waste modules into aluminum frames, tempered glass and solar cells.
The core technology is for increasing recycling efficiency by lowering the cost of separating the aluminum frame from the solar module, the front glass, the low-density core of the sandwich panel, and the Combiner Box, and it is possible to separate the components of the module in a single process to collect and sort them also, solar modules with damaged glass substrates can be used as a recycling process.

With its waste module recycling technology, WonKwang S&T can reduce waste volume while recovering valuable materials such as aluminum, silicon, and glass, thereby helping the solar energy industry to be reborn as a safer, eco-friendly energy source and to develop into a sustainable industry.
WonKwang S&T will lead the market through continuous investment and technological development establish solar enery recycling as a new growth business of the future.