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Upcycling
What is Upcycling?
Upcycling is termed as creative reuse, the process of transforming by-products into new materials or products perceived to be of greater quality. It is a systemic change to the approach of recycling using creative and unique techniques to get back for products of better value thereby achieving a higher standard of sustainability.
Elecsome has been able to Upcycle glass fines into nano-engineered concrete aggregate for the first time in the world branded as SolarCrete. This allows cement mix manufacturers to save between 50-80% of the precious and limited river sand typically used in these products.
Solar panel upcycling can help reduce the amount of solar waste and the need for mining new materials, making solar energy more sustainable and circular. The process of upcycling solar panels, recovering more materials in the process from the solar panel and adding them back to the value chain is indeed the new Mining. Mining materials from our existing usage of resources and giving them back - "New kind of Mining" as quoted by Neeraj Das MD of Elecsome Pty Ltd. in his interview with reneweconomy.
PANELS UPCYCLING
ELECSOME UPCYCLING facilities process panels for 97%+ UPCYCLING
Major reasons for Solar Panel Damages
Re-Used Solar Panel Testing
The priority for Testing Solar Panels for Re-use is to ensure that these solar panels are safe, reliable and efficient for successful implementation
By using sophisticated testing methods, we can ensure that reused solar panels deliver reliable, clean energy while contributing to a more sustainable solar industry.
ElecSome Prioritizes Re-Use of Solar Panels
ElecSome uses standard testing procedures to support the reuse of solar panels in Australia.
Visual Inspection
The first step is a thorough visual inspection to check for any obvious signs of damage, such as broken glass, warped frames, or loose connections
Performance Testing
Panels are tested under standard test conditions to determine their output power and efficiency
Electroluminescence (EL) Imaging
EL imaging is a tool for identifying micro-cracks, broken cells, and other defects that can't be seen with the naked eye.
Thermal Imaging
Infrared (IR) cameras can be used to detect hot spots on panels, which may indicate issues like faulty cells, bypass diodes, or poor connections.
SAFETY TESTING
Safety testing is essential to ensure that panels don't pose any electrical or fire risks. This can involve checking the insulation resistance and grounding.
Need for Solar Panel Recycling
- Damaged and end of first life panels are Rapidly growing in numbers across Australia
- UQ/ Circular PV Alliance (UQ/CPVA) report 04/23 forecasts 450,000 tonnes/15M panels of Solar Panel waste by 2040 - equivalent to 20,000 B-Double truckloads of panels
- Currently there are about 100M solar Panels in Australia
- Push to net zero requires additional 1900 gigawatts (GW) of Solar Energy that equates to over 2.7 billion PV panels
- UQ/CPVA report shows developers allow 10-13% panel damage per project during the life cycle
OUR SOLUTION - SOLAR PANEL UPCYCLING
- Damaged Panels are collected and transported to our facilities.
- We have collection centers setup throughout the nation.
- We segregate the material and use the silica from the panels to create SolarCrete, our patented flagship product: a fine aggregate mix used in construction utilising our patented technology.
- Silicon wafers are mined for re-use as PV/Battery grade Silicon.
- Electric Conductors are re-used in Electrical Appliances.
- High value Silver and Copper are re-used and distributed as Raw Material for other Industries.
- Aluminum Frames are repurposed for Cans and other solar panel frames.
- Plastics and polymers enter established sustainable recycling channels.
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