EcoSolar envisions an integrated value chain to manufacture and implement solar panels in the most ecologic way by maximising resource efficiency, taking into account reuse of materials during production and repurposing solar panel components at end of life stage. EcoSolar will demonstrate that during the lifetime of a solar electricity producing field, individual panels can be monitored, allowing to identify defaulting panels at an early stage, replacing or repairing them and thus to increase the overall energy yield. In WP1, SINTEF&Norsun will work on recovery & reuse during silicon ingot crystallisation, addressing recovery of argon purge gas and work with Steuler on reusable crucibles. In WP2 Garbo will recover Si-kerf-loss during wafering, and with SINTEF work on potential reuse applications, like as Si-feedstock in crystallisation processes, or as resource in crucible manufacturing or lithium ion battery production. In WP3, ISC&SoliTek will look into potential for re-using process water; reducing material resources, like chemicals and silver, by smarter solar cell design, more efficient processes and recovery and reuse of chemicals; AIMEN will develop solar cell monitoring and repair for inline processing in an industrial plant, to enable remanufacturing. In WP4 Apollon will use a module design that results in reduced bill of materials, enables remanufacturing and reuse of components from modules that showed failures after assembly or have been identified as malfunctioning in operating PV installations, based on integrated diagnosis techniques for the detection of failure modes. bifa will collect data from all previous WPs to assess environmental impact of the intended innovations (WP5). Bifa will identify waste streams that are costly and hard to recycle and find opportunities to repurpose those waste products. BCC will disseminate the results and will support the partners with the exploitation and replication potential of the results (WP6).

ICARUS aims to demonstrate modular processing solutions at industrial scale to retrieve 95% of high-value raw materials from silicon ingot and wafer manufacturing, through eco-efficient processing, refining, and transformation of industrial silicon, graphite and silica waste streams. Industrial symbiosis will provide refined raw materials for further industrial high-end applications. Material closed-loop systems will enable a circular economy for silicon ingot and wafer manufacturers, potentially unlocking substantial volumes of raw materials: 9.600.000 t of silicon, 1.165.300 t of silica and 64.000 t of graphite by 2050. ICARUS will demonstrate: 3 innovative industrial pilots producing silicon, silica and graphite raw materials; 1 pilot converting silicon waste into full value industrial commodities: - Pretreated and purified silicon, silica and graphite raw materials (RESITEC), - Pyrometallurgical process using recylced silicon, silica and graphite for high purity silicon (NOSI), - Granular silicion feedstock for photovoltaic applications (ROSI), - Full value industrial commodities: green hydrogen, silica and silicates (LUX), for different high-end applications with strict raw material quality standards, to assess the technical and economic viability of these applications: - Si-photovoltaics (CEA) - Al-Si alloys (GRANGES) - Thermoelectric modules and generators (MMEX) - Lithium ion battery cells (CIDETEC, SGLBS) - Silicon carbide powders (FIVEN) - Fine-grained graphite (SGL) The R&D team consists of internationally recognised partners, SINTEF, CEA, INP, UCY and CIDETEC, that will support with services for more efficient implementation of innovations developed in the project. Technological feasibility will be assessed by the industry partners, while BIFA will carry out environmental assessment, CHEMCON will conduct economic and market viability assessment for the ICARUS value chain. AYMING will be in charge of dissemination and communication activities.

Metal halide perovskite solar cells have moved into the focus of energy materials research through impressive power conversion efficiencies. However, the most efficient perovskite absorbers contain toxic lead. Tin halide perovskites have emerged as a highly promising alternative and efficiencies up to 14.6% have been already reported, but to become a highly efficient thin film technology, further increasing their efficiency and stability, as well as fast and homogeneous large area perovskite crystallization compatible with roll-to-roll processes are still major hurdles. These challenges are tackled within SMARTLINE-PV by the development of a fast, robust and scalable plasma assisted crystallization technology leading to high quality tin perovskite films. The benefits lie in the high speed of the process, the low temperatures involved and in the precise control of perovskite nucleation and growth by a combination of the precursor chemistry and the plasma conditions. Moreover, (i) tailored interlayers will be applied to further improve the solar cell efficiency and stability and (ii) novel device concepts to fabricate flexible tin perovskite solar cell modules with selectable colour will be implemented. The lead-free thin film PV technology developed in SMARTLINE-PV will achieve efficiencies of 25%, with significant reduction of energy consumption and manufacturing costs compared to other thin film technologies, which typically involve high temperature steps. For the SMARTLINE-PV consortium, these advancements will lead to a plethora of new opportunities to strengthen the European photovoltaics industry in many sectors including the important building-integrated (BI) PV market. Ecodesign, circularity and social acceptance will play important roles in the whole development process in which a TRL progression of tin perovskite solar cells to TRL 5 is foreseen, which will be validated by the fabrication of BIPV-demonstrators and their operation in real-life conditions.

QUASAR will develop and implement solutions for a systematic collection and management methodology and decision tools for EOL-PV-modules based on a holistic approach between all parts and actors across the EOL supply chain including concepts of reverse logistic technologies, AI/machine learning, product lifecycle information management (PLIM) based on digital twins, and best practices for sorting, warehouse operations, testing and repair/reuse. EOL decision-making will be supported through the delivery of a digital product passport thanks to smart sensor tags as well as rapid, non-destructive testing methods for assessing EOL-PV condition for reuse/repair/recycling in the field and at waste treatment facilities. Repair technology solutions will be provided, along with guidelines for second-life warranty, quality thresholds, product reliability, labelling and tracking. QUASAR will upscale and demonstrate two emerging recycling technologies based on delamination by controlled thermal and chemical treatment [pilot A] and waterjet delamination [pilot B], targeting EOL-PV recycling rates of 70-90% for silicon, metals, glass and polymers with high purity for reuse in the PV industry, as well as semi-conductor industry, speciality chemicals, float glass, or other products. Material closed-loop systems will be implemented to enable a circular economy for the PV industry. By 2050, from the upscaling and worldwide deployment of both recycling technologies, substantial volumes of secondary raw materials will be unlocked: 220,000 tons of silicon, 5,200 tons of silver, 62,000 tons of copper and 4,700,000 tons of glass, accompanied with 421 million tons of CO2 savings. To achieve its specific objectives, QUASAR gathers a multidisciplinary consortium involving commercial actors from across the entire EOL supply chain: PV module manufacturers, utility scale PV system operators, collectors, recyclers, and end users of recycled secondary raw materials.

Since the last decades, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) have been drastically increasing in Europe, particularly for recent technologies such as Photovoltaic (PV) devices. These products are designed as complex sandwiches, which make the recovery of the critical (Si, In, Ga) and precious (Ag) raw materials encapsulated in the layers extremely challenging. The overall objective of PHOTORAMA is to draw up a profitable and sustainable circular value chain that will lead to a carbon neutral PV industry. PHOTORAMA will develop and demonstrate the industrial prospective of recycling solutions to recover and recycle all the materials ‘components from End-of-life PV panels. A complementary consortium of 13 European companies and research institutes has built the framework of PHOTORAMA as follow: (1) the development of innovative processes and technologies from TRL4-5 to TRL7 to establish a sound recycling scheme to increase significantly resource efficiency with decisive cost-cutting solutions. The implementation of automated disassembly and sandwich opening as layer separation (MONDRAGON, DFD, CEA) enabling high-recovery (> 95%) of secondary raw materials: Ag, Si (SINTEF, CEA, IDENER) and In, Ga (LUXCHEMTECH) from EoL PV panels (crystalline silicon, thin films), (2) the full-circularity approach emphasised from collection (SOREN) to marketable new products from Si, In, Ga, Ag (RHP), glass (MALTHA) mainly for PV manufacturing (EGP), (3) the demonstration of the business viability and attractiveness of its technological solutions (BIFA, ENEA) as one of the most competitive perspective for PV recycling. PHOTORAMA will strengthen this ambitious model with environmental impacts assessments and a strategic dissemination and exploitation plan supported by a strong effort for raising societal awareness (ZSI). The implementation of PHOTORAMA recycling scheme would unlock already more than 100,000 tons of valuable secondary raw materials by 2030.