UNSW leads the national research initiative addressing the urgent challenge of managing end-of-life solar panels.
The Australian Research Council (ARC) Hub for Photovoltaic Solar Panel Recycling and Sustainability was officially opened at UNSW yesterday. It's the first research initiative in Australia dedicated to developing a circular solar economy, and funded by a $5 million grant from ARC's Industrial Transformation Research program.
UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise, Professor Bronwyn Fox, said the new Hub reflected the University's commitment to tackling the most pressing challenges of our time, through world-leading research and deep collaboration with industry.
"Photovoltaic waste in Australia is predicted to reach 100,000 tonnes annually by 2030. As we accelerate towards a net-zero future, we must ensure the technologies enabling that transition are themselves sustainable.
"This Hub brings together world-leading Australian engineers, scientists, policy makers and industry to transform end-of-life solar panels from an emerging waste challenge into a valuable resource, helping build a circular economy and strengthening Australia's clean energy leadership," Prof. Fox said.
Turning end-of-life panels into valuable resources
Hub Director Professor Yansong Shen, an expert in 'green' metals from the School of Chemical Engineering , said there was an urgent need for a strong solar panel recycling industry, as many of Australia's 3.5 million solar installations would reach end-of-life in the next decade.
"End-of-life solar panels contain many valuable materials like glass, silicon, silver and copper. Our goal is to move these panels away from landfill and towards recycling in a circular economy where materials are recovered and reused."
Initiatives already underway at the Hub include finding better ways to recover valuable materials from old solar panels, developing improved technologies to separate and sort panel components more efficiently and redesigning panels so they're easier to recycle.
The Hub will also advance policy by creating a network of researchers who will improve the entire value chain of solar panel production.
"We want to help build a robust recycling industry in Australia that creates jobs, supports new supply chains and improves our sustainable energy security," Prof. Yansong said. "We will know we've achieved our objectives when solar panel waste is no longer seen as a problem, but as part of a sustainable system."
Building a sustainable solar future
Assistant Minister for Immigration and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Matt Thistlethwaite, officially opened the Hub.
He said it naturally followed that the university responsible for pioneering the world's leading solar power technologies - based in one of the most sun-rich countries on Earth - should also take the lead in advancing the global solar recycling revolution.
"The stakes are real. If we get this right, there will be less landfill, new domestic supply chains for current materials, a more resilient energy sector, and perhaps most importantly, for students and early career researchers, new industries and new jobs that probably don't exist yet," Mr Thistlethwaite said.
"I want to thank the research team led by Professor Yansong Shen, the industry partners and UNSW - congratulations on reaching this milestone. Australia's story has been a remarkable sunrise, but this hub will ensure that the sunset is just as good."
