23 Apr 2025

Why recyclability matters now

Australia installed its first mass wave of rooftop PV between 2010 and 2015. Those modules will begin leaving roofs in large numbers early next decade. Conventional recycling shreds glass and aluminium but loses high‑value silver, copper and silicon. UNSW’s chemistry bonds cell strings with a reversible thermoplastic encapsulant and uses screw‑less interlocking frames; a low‑temperature solvent bath then releases the laminate intact, allowing 98 percent material recovery.

Grant breakdown

The Commonwealth is investing AU $70 million through the Critical Technologies Fund, with a AU $42 million convertible loan from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Money will finance:

1. A 50 MW pilot line at UNSW Kensington by Q4 2026.

2. Metallisation‑paste recovery scaled to 600 kg of silver per year.

3. IEC 61215 / 61730 certification with TÜV SÜD.

4. Training 300 engineers and technicians in circular‑PV manufacturing.

Chinese partners bring scale

JA Solar and LONGi will each host a 250 MW “beta” line using UNSW’s reversible‑encapsulant modules. In exchange for licensing the chemistry, UNSW secures 20 percent of that output for Australian projects, giving domestic solar farms early access without building a full gigafactory straight away.

Economic upside for Australia

Deloitte Access Economics estimates a AU $1.4 billion secondary‑materials market by 2045 if panels can be fully disassembled. Licensing revenue from encapsulant formulations and disassembly robots could top AU $80 million a year once global roll‑out tops 5 GW.

Technical challenges ahead

• Encapsulant cost: currently AU $0.012 / W—double EVA; parity target is 2028.

• Durability gap: 2 % power loss after 2 000 h damp‑heat, versus 1 % for standard EVA.

• Solvent recycling: closed‑loop distillation must scale cheaply to keep emissions low.

Policy ripple effects

Canberra plans to exempt circular modules from a proposed AU $1‑per‑panel recycling bond due in 2027. That tilt could shift procurement toward UNSW tech even before costs match legacy modules.

Timeline to commercial roll‑out

• 2025 Q2 – pilot equipment ordered
• 2026 Q4 – first glass‑in/glass‑out run at 50 MW line
• 2027 Q3 – IEC certification; 250 MW beta lines online in China
• 2028 Q2 – first commercial shipment to 200 MW Mildura farm
• 2030 – global cumulative installs exceed 5 GW

Environmental benefits quantified

Every tonne of recycled glass avoids 580 kg CO₂, while recovering silver at 95 percent purity offsets mining energy thirtyfold. Life‑cycle analysis suggests the circular module emits just 28 kg CO₂‑equivalent per kW—half today’s glass‑backsheet footprint.

What skeptics say

Some engineers warn reversible encapsulants could delaminate in harsh Australian summers. Others argue reliance on Chinese beta lines undercuts local manufacturing goals. UNSW counters that licensing royalties will bankroll a future domestic plant once market share is proven.

Outlook

If UNSW’s near‑total‑recyclable panel proves durable and price‑competitive, Australia could pivot from solar importer to technology exporter, converting a looming e‑waste problem into a circular‑economy opportunity. The next three years will test whether chemistry, finance and policy align to make “cradle‑to‑cradle” PV the industry norm.