Photovoltaic panels last 25 years on average. Like electrical appliances, their recycling is mandatory by law. Since last autumn, a line in Kralupy nad Vltavou has been sending photovoltaics back into circulation.
One of the first Czech recycling lines for photovoltaic panels operates in a small hall in the middle of an industrial complex in Kralupy nad Vltavou. Hundreds of tonnes of solar panels are expected to flow through it annually. It was launched last October by Czech company Dekonta, which specialises in environmental consultancy, remediation technologies and hazardous waste disposal. This year, the project entered the E.ON Energy Globe competition and reached the final six.
Solar panels consist of thin silicon semiconductor cells. These contain metals such as tin, copper and silver and are covered by a protective plastic layer. The surface is made of tempered glass and the frame is aluminium. The line makes it possible to dismantle the panels and sort the materials for reuse.
Panels arrive at the site in conventional large containers or are delivered by lorries. While some are visibly damaged, wear is not apparent on others.
Kralupy processes conventional silicon panels. Less widespread cadmium and thin-film types are sent to specialist facilities, as they require a different procedure due to their toxicity and other properties.
“First, employees must manually remove the junction box glued to the back. Then the aluminium frame comes next,” Musil describes. Along with the junction module, line workers also remove the cables. The wiring is handled as ordinary electrical waste, with its copper recovered.
Employees then manually separate the panels, which weigh 20 kilograms on average, from their frames. Their aluminium is ideal for recycling because it retains the same quality even after reuse. At smelters, the remnants can be used alongside other metal waste to make new products, with significantly lower energy consumption than producing aluminium from primary raw materials.
The final semi-manual step is to “cut up” the panel with large hydraulic shears so that its individual parts fit into the line. Models of various sizes arrive in Kralupy, so they need to be adjusted in advance.
The recycling process then takes place directly on the line. It consists of seven machines manufactured by Czech engineering companies. Only the thin plastic sheet with printed cells and glass proceeds for processing.
The Kralupy line operates on a physical-mechanical principle, enabling up to 85 percent of a panel's original mass to be reused. No chemicals are used. They are required by another type of processing, which was not chosen in Kralupy.
“First, we remove the top glass layer,” Musil explains. The glass coating accounts for almost two-thirds of the panel's weight. “The crushed material from it can be readily reused in various industrial sectors,” he adds.
Six employees operate the line. The hall is very noisy and dust comes from the machines during sorting, so everyone must wear white suits and other protective equipment, including filtered masks and earmuffs.
The materials are gradually separated through a series of sorters and fall into large white bags. With the exception of a mixed plastic fraction, which cannot be separated and is used as alternative fuel, all recovered materials can be returned to circulation.
The most valuable output is powder enriched with silver, silicon and other metals. These are only recovered from it by the final processor; Dekonta does not separate them itself.
The line has an annual capacity of 2,000 tonnes of panels. The company has contracted a broad range of buyers for the recovered raw materials, with each part of the original solar panel ultimately going somewhere different.
According to Ministry of the Environment data, 52 thousand tonnes of new solar panels were placed on the Czech market last year alone. Some 570 tonnes were collected for take-back, while more than 580 tonnes went for recycling.
So far, the Czech Republic has faced the largest volume of discarded panels as a result of solar power plants being destroyed in the Hodonín region. A tornado damaged two larger installations there in 2021.
Today, panels are recycled when they are mechanically damaged, improperly installed or have suffered a significant performance decline. Burnt-out solar panels must also be dealt with.
While only a smaller number of units are currently being discarded, their volume will gradually grow in the coming years. The largest number of panels in the country were connected during the solar boom of 2009 and 2010, meaning they are just past half of their stated service life. Researchers at the Czech University of Life Sciences have nevertheless found that photovoltaic panels often begin experiencing serious problems after just ten years of operation and are worth replacing.
Every panel manufacturer must arrange their proper disposal and recycling. Different rules apply to photovoltaics installed before 2013, however: the power plant operator is responsible for disposal.
Recycling works similarly to that of refrigerators or washing machines. Since 2013, the price of each unit has included a recycling fee. This amounts to at least 8.50 crowns per kilogram. Typical panels weigh around 20 kilograms, bringing the total to around 170 crowns.
For both new and old panels, collective compliance schemes are responsible for the entire process. They are funded by recycling fees. These include Asekol, Elektrowin, Retela and ČEZ Recyklace.
Cooperation with collective schemes is crucial for the Kralupy line, and Dekonta has contracts with most of them. “Operators also contact us directly, but a large share of contracts comes from collective schemes, which order recycling directly from us,” Vojtěch Musil explains.
Dekonta developed the line over several years with support from the European Regional Development Fund and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Total costs came to between fifteen and twenty million crowns.
Before its launch, the line operated in a testing phase for several months while Kralupy awaited the necessary permits. It entered full operation last October. In the first half of the summer, the line was shut down for necessary maintenance. “We already have contracts in place until the end of the year and will be operating continuously,” Musil adds.
Dekonta expects the number of panels for recycling to increase over time. The company's research department is therefore currently working on optimising and further automating the line, including through the use of machine learning.
Discarded panels were previously transported abroad. The first dedicated European line was launched in southern France in 2018 by Veolia. The United States and China lead in the number of recycling facilities.
According to last year's International Energy Agency report, Germany has the largest number of lines in Europe, with seventeen facilities. Italy follows with seven recyclers and France with six.
Only one other similar line currently operates in the Czech Republic. In June this year, Technoworld commissioned a Japanese method that makes it possible to remove glass from panels intact.
However, the Czech Republic has well-developed infrastructure for solar panel recycling in the International Energy Agency's comparison. Similar lines are therefore likely to become more common in the coming years.
Taken from the online portal EkoNews.cz, a website covering business and sustainability.
bloomberg.com, 10 August 2026, 21:02
world-nuclear-news.org, 10 August 2026, 14:14
montelnews.com, 10 August 2026, 13:31
reuters.com, 10 August 2026, 07:02

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