Our expertise for a sustainable PV industry

Solar energy has become the leading source of renewable electricity worldwide. The photovoltaic industry needs new technologies to make its supply chain more sustainable in a renewable future.

1900 GW

Photovoltaic capacity installed worldwide

20%

Average annual installations growth rate

1 400 000 MT

Annual polysilicon consumption

14%

Silver production dedicated to photovoltaics

Solar farm for mobileSolar farm aerial with purple overlay with purple overlay
Aluminium frame
Photovoltaic cells
Backsheet
Front glass
Polymer encapsulant
Solar panel layers illustration
Recycling arrows icon
60M Tons

of panels to recycle by 2050

End-of-Life Panel Recycling

Thanks to their simple and stable structure, photovoltaic panels have a long lifetime. But older panels were already installed 20 to 30 years ago. Also, some panels reach their end-of-life earlier because they are damaged during installation, they face too strong weather conditions, or suffered manufacturing defects. The volume of panels reaching their end-of-life is growing exponentially and it will be a challenge to develop an infrastructure able to handle this new waste stream.

The adverse effect of this long-lasting structure is that it is difficult to separate the materials embedded in photovoltaic panels. To tackle this challenge, ROSI has developed an innovative process allowing to properly separate the materials and keep their purity. Using low-impact and scalable technologies, ROSI is scaling-up its activity to become the leading recycler of end-of-life solar panels

The recycling processes of ROSI create new sources of secondary raw materials: high-purity silicon, silver, copper, aluminium, and high-transparency glass. This is a first step in creating a circular economy for the photovoltaic industry.

Monocrystalline silicon ingot grown from highly pure polysilicon
Silicon wafer to be processed into a photovoltaic cell
Kerf loss composed of highly pure silicon powder polluted with water and organic compounds
Recycling arrows icon
Circular recycling
30%

of polysilicon is lost as kerf

Kerf Recycling

During the manufacturing of photovoltaic panels, a challenging step is the sawing of silicon ingots into very thin wafers. The diamond-wire saw allow to reach a thickness of less than 150 µm, but also create a massive flow of wasted silicon powder in the sawing water called kerf. Currently, this kerf that contain highly pure silicon is not properly recycled.

With deep roots in silicon purification processes, ROSI developed state-of-the-art processes to properly clean and remelt the high purity silicon contained in the kerf. The know-how of ROSI creates a major source of low-impact silicon that can be reused within the photovoltaic industry.

The recycling of kerf creates a competitive advantage for the industry: less consumption of raw materials, less energy to reach the polysilicon purity, and a more sustainable supply chain. The technologies of ROSI also allow to strongly reduce the carbon footprint of the manufacturing of photovoltaic panels.

Our Projects

ROSI keeps developing new technologies to stay at the edge of what is feasible.