Singapore Polytechnic collaborates with Sembcorp Industries to recycle solar panels

11 Feb 2019

Article featured the collaboration between SP and Sembcorp Industries to develop a pilot recycling plant for solar panels. The parties will collaborate on commercialising the first-ever technology in Singapore for photovoltaic recycling. This innovative process, developed locally by SP researchers, recovers resources from used solar panels, such as glass, silicon, and metals including silver and aluminium. SP researcher, Dr Thong Ya Xuan, commented that SP will first use the damaged or unqualified solar panels from Sembcorp to test out the recycling process. The extracted silicon and glass can be used to make new solar panels, the silver will be useful for the electronics industry and the aluminium can be used as a coagulant for wastewater treatment. (Lianhe Zaobao, p5)