SOLARCYCLE forges new panel recycling partnership with EDF Renewables North America

SOLARCYCLE has imbibed in a partnership with EDF Renewables North America, a French-based renewable energy developer that has expertise in wind and solar energy projects. This new agreement will allow California-based SOLARCYCLE to recycle solar panels damaged or broken during construction and operation from EDF's grid-scale, distribution-scale, and onsite solar sites.

SOLARCYCLE, on the other hand, poses as "designed to maximize solar sustainability by offering solar asset owners a low-cost, eco-friendly, comprehensive process for recycling retiring solar panels and technologies and repurposing them for new uses."

Solar panels require the untamed use of silicon for their photovoltaic properties, but the panels on which the modules reside are usually made of aluminium. This is when aluminium's 100 per cent recyclability comes into the forefront, as SOLARCYCLE is able to retrieve the non-ferrous metal fully.

An associate director at EDF Renewables, Edgar Puerto, stated: "Today's agreement is part of EDF Renewables' long-term environmental, social and governance (ESG) roadmap and commitment to producing zero-carbon energy that also contributes to a circular economy in the sector."

"As a company, we have committed to developing the recycling capability of our clean energy assets, starting with solar. We view this as a key strategy for reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and catalyzing a new domestic supply chain for made-in-America solar products," asserted Puerto.

EDF Renewables carefully evaluated various solar recycling solutions before choosing SOLARCYCLE, based on the company's strong commitment to innovation and its proven track record in delivering high-value recycling processes.

SOLARCYCLE's technology enables the extraction of up to 95% of the value from recycled panels, including valuable materials like silver, silicon, copper, aluminium and glass. This is a significant improvement over the industry standard, which typically recovers less than 50% of materials.

EDF Renewables was also impressed with SOLARCYCLE's commitment to environmental responsibility and transparency, as demonstrated through its robust reporting mechanisms. By partnering with SOLARCYCLE, EDF Renewables aims to complete the lifecycle of its solar systems and contribute to the development of the next generation of solar technology in North America by supplying recycled raw materials to solar manufacturers.

The chief commercial officer and co-founder of SOLARCYCLE, Jesse Simons, commented: "We are proud to partner with EDF Renewables, who went deep with us, with multiple visits to our factory, extensive audits and a competitive request for proposal (RFP) process. Today's announcement should be a sign to other global companies that recycling technology is ready today, and SOLARCYCLE is a preferred choice for companies with a commitment to safety, quality, environmental compliance, sustainability and price."