Researchers develop laser recycling method for silicon solar modules

Dutch researchers demonstrated a nanosecond laser process that recovers silicon at up to 99.998% purity from photovoltaic modules, addressing a critical bottleneck in the circular economy for solar waste.

First covered Sep 16, 2026 · 12:30 AM PT · 1 article · no longer in the live window

Researchers develop laser recycling method for silicon solar modules — Image via pv-magazine.com

Coverage

10d PV Magazine Laser-based PV recycling method demonstrates high silicon, silver recovery — Dutch researchers have developed a nanosecond laser-assisted recycling (LARS) process that opens silicon PV modules while simultaneously stripping their…

Primary sources

publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu Circular Economy Strategies for the EU's Renewable Electricity Supply

More coverage from around the web

tib-op.org LARS: Laser Assisted Recycling of Solar Modules: Green and NIR Thresholds, SiNₓ Removal, and Material Recovery | SiliconPV Conference Proceedings

spectrum.ieee.org Femtosecond Lasers Solve Solar Panels’ Recycling Issue - IEEE Spectrum

nltimes.nl New laser technology for efficient solar panel recycling developed in Netherlands | NL Times

sciencedirect.com Laser recycling of silver in bulk and nanoparticle form from silicon solar cells and deep learning for process automation - ScienceDirect

nrel.gov News Release: NREL Proof of Concept Shows Path to Easier Recycling of Solar Modules | NREL

Appeared in: 2026-09-16 (#3)

← Back to the brief