Project description

The project aims to recycle end-of-life photovoltaic (PV) panels to recover 87% of materials with high purity, usable as a secondary raw material, including silicon (critical raw material), through an innovative plant that will be built in the industrial area of Porto Marghera (VE).

Through capillary and efficient PV collection, the project will establish a circular eco-district, as well as a national display under the brand ” Venice World Capital of Sustainability” capable of processing 3,000t/year of material and recovering about 350t of aluminum, 2,000t of glass, 24t of copper ribbons and 84t of PV cells.

The activities will make it possible to improve the waste collection of panels in the Northeast area (provinces of Venice, Treviso, and Padua) that is poorly served by specialized consortia and where there is still a lack of dedicated plants for recycling this waste. IThe project involves the construction from scratch of a high automation and energy efficiency plant, based on 9-Tech technology with two European patents behind it.

The plant will include 3 main parts:

• automatic machinery for panel type recognition, disassembly of the aluminum frame and junction boxes;
• EVA resin removal furnace with patented process;
• and mechanical separation with patented method of copper strips, glass, and photovoltaic cells.

In addition, an experimental chemical plant with a capacity of up to 6t/year for chemical treatment of photovoltaic cells will be set up within the adjacent Research Center in order to study silver recovery on a pilot scale. Activities will include authorization for the plant; site preparation with infrastructure within the Eco-district, plant installation and testing and optimization.