ECO-PV AND ENEA
With ENEA for recovery of raw materials: Eco-PV Technology is born
Pursuing the aims of the circular economy, Eco-PV and ENEA have established a scientific collaboration relationship which has as its objective the industrialization of an innovative process for the treatment of end-of-life photovoltaic modules aimed at the most efficient and eco-sustainable recovery of the secondary raw materials.
The Eco-PV Technology company was also born with this mission, with the aim of creating the “Faster Green” industrial plant capable of recovering and recycling more than 95% of the materials that make up the photovoltaic module such as glass, metals, silicon, and plastics. Compared to those already patented and to those implemented in currently operational industrial plants, the treatment process of the “Faster Green” plant is more efficient from an energy point of view and completely green, being with zero emissions.
The marked eco-sustainability of the project is guaranteed by two important characteristics:
- reduction of the energy requirement of the treatment process;
- zero emissions of pollutants.
HOW THE OPERATING PROCESS WORKS
Eco-PV provides for the aluminum frame and junction box of the photovoltaic module recovery. This is treated by machine able to recover fully the laminate glass. The second step includes the recovery of the exploitable metals, such as copper, aluminum, silver, tin and lead contained in the photovoltaic cells. Eco-PV Technology ends its operating process with separate recovery of silicon and plastic.
Today, according to the analyses being conducted in ENEA labs, the recovered metals in the ENEA and Eco-PV experimental plant are 99,9% pure by weight.
SOON THE PATENT
Once the evaluation phase of the Eco-PV Technology process has been completed by expert technicians and consultants within the recovery of the constituent materials of the photovoltaic modules, to safeguard the scientific and industrial know-how acquired in recent years by Eco-PV and ENEA, the process will be covered by a patent which will be filed both in Italy and abroad.