The PV panel recycling plant will be operational in a month
President of the technology company 2loop Tech, Dr. Maciej Tora announced that in a month a plant will be opened in Łódź that will enable almost 100 percent recycling of photovoltaic panels.
“We have developed and laboratory tested a technology that enables the separation of each element to obtain pure glass, aluminum, copper, silicon, silver and plastic. Only this method of obtaining fully clean elements will make recycling profitable and, importantly, such technology is beneficial for the environment, we do not cause additional work in the glassworks, which would have to recover clean glass using energy,” Tora emphasized.
Technology for recovering raw materials from PV panels by 2loopTech in cooperation with AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków. The Łódź plant is to process 40 tons of photovoltaic panels per month, approximately 100,000. pieces per year.
According to the calculations presented during the debate, in 2019 the capacity of installed PV installations throughout the country was less than 2 GWh. In 2023, it was over 14 GWh.
“If we wanted to dismantle all these installations now, there would be a queue of trucks loaded with these panels on the road from Krakow to Gdańsk. So they would cover a distance of 600 kilometers. That's why it's so important to have plants operating today that will recycle these panels, preferably 100%. – added Tora during a debate organized by Waste Management and Recycling Cluster during environmental protection and waste management fairs Ecotech In Targi Kielce.
Important regulation and support of the Ministry of Environmental Protection
The speakers drew attention to the need for top-down regulation, which would constitute: subsidies for panel recycling and batteries that are processed but not fully processed. “Legislation and subsidies are a way to avoid returning to the practice of throwing batteries into bushes or keeping them in barns,” he said. Robert Makielapresident Wastes Service Group.
“Ministry of Environment and Climate should now create a separate fund from which it would pay subsidies for the recycling of batteries or photovoltaic panels,” he said. Michael Kuszpresident Green Recovery Recovery Organization.
During the 24th Environmental Protection and Waste Management Fair – Ekotech, held on Wednesday and Thursday, almost 80 exhibitors from Poland and abroad presented their products at the Kielce exhibition center. (PAP)
author: Wiktor Dziarmaga
