South Korean solar project developer Won Kwang S&T has introduced SolreBorn, a mobile solar panel recycling system designed to address the growing logistical and environmental challenges associated with decommissioning utility scale photovoltaic plants.
As Africa and other emerging markets expand solar capacity, the industry is increasingly turning its attention to end of life management. SolreBorn is positioned as a practical solution that brings recycling directly to the solar farm, reducing the need to transport bulky and fragile modules over long distances.
On site processing to cut costs and emissions
The SolreBorn unit is transported to project sites where it dismantles and recycles solar modules on location. By processing panels at source, the system reportedly reduces transportation volume, costs and associated emissions by up to 85 percent.
The mobile plant has a processing capacity of up to 2.5 tonnes of solar modules per day. It operates with a power demand of 35 kilowatts, of which approximately 17 percent is supplied by integrated solar generation, reinforcing its low carbon operating model.
High value material recovery without chemicals
At the core of the system is a semi automatic, patented glass delamination process that separates intact glass from aluminium frames without breakage. This enables the recovery of high purity secondary materials including aluminium, glass, silicon, copper and metal powders.
Notably, the process does not rely on chemical treatments. Won Kwang S&T reports that the system achieves a recycling rate of up to 95 percent, exceeding typical regulatory benchmarks in many markets.
With solar waste volumes expected to increase significantly over the next decade, technologies that can preserve material value while limiting environmental impact are likely to attract strong interest from developers, asset owners and policymakers.
Strategic partnership targets scale up
To support international validation and commercial scaling, Won Kwang S&T is collaborating with Australian listed company Livium. In early 2026, Livium shipped 600 end of life solar panels from Australia to South Korea to test the system’s capability to recover critical minerals, including silver.
The partners aim to use the results to inform the development of a joint venture recycling facility in Australia, signalling ambitions to deploy the SolreBorn model in other high growth solar markets.
As global solar fleets mature, mobile and decentralised recycling solutions such as SolreBorn could play a pivotal role in strengthening circularity across the renewable energy value chain.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
January 27, 2026
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