The findings come as demand for critical raw materials continues to rise. Electric vehicles, solar power, battery storage and expanding electricity grids all require substantial mineral supplies.
However, new mines, refineries and processing plants take years to develop. Consequently, recovering materials from existing products could help ease future supply pressures.
Rystad Energy estimates that recyclable materials from solar panels are worth around EUR 1.7 billion today. By 2050, that value could reach EUR 69 billion.
The consultancy bases its projections on global solar deployment and expected increases in material prices. Nevertheless, the potential contribution varies significantly between materials.
Recycled silver could meet 21% of solar manufacturers’ requirements in 2035, it says. By comparison, recycled copper would supply only around 2% of demand.
These projections specifically consider panels installed in 2020 and recycled by 2035. Therefore, manufacturers could use installation records to estimate future supplies of recovered materials.
Additionally, solar farm operators could incorporate potential revenues from material recovery into their decommissioning plans.
Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Newcastle in Australia have demonstrated a process that recovers almost all the silver from end-of-life solar-cell material. The development could prove significant as Australia prepares for a growing volume of retired solar panels. It could generate more than one million tonnes of this waste by 2050.
Researchers estimate that the panels could contain between 300 and 500 tonnes of silver. Although recyclers commonly recover glass and aluminium, extracting silver remains more difficult and expensive.
The Newcastle team uses froth flotation, a technique traditionally associated with mineral processing. The process combines water, air and relatively small amounts of chemicals to separate and concentrate valuable materials.
During continuous pilot testing, researchers processed solar-cell material equivalent to 468 kg of rooftop panels. Silver recovery remained close to 100%, while the final concentrate represented just 1.25% of the original material.
‘We’re applying proven mineral-processing technology to one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the renewable energy sector,’ says Mahshid Firouzi, deputy director of the university’s Centre for Critical Minerals and Urban Mining.
For her, the question is no longer whether recyclers can recover silver but whether recovery can be commercially viable. Despite the promising recovery rate, commercial viability remains a challenge.
Solar panel recycling currently costs considerably more than sending panels to landfill. Silver represents one of the highest-value materials within solar cells so Firouzi believes more efficient recovery could improve the recycling economics and reduce material losses.
Don’t hesitate to contact us to share your input and ideas. Subscribe to the magazine or (free) newsletter.
Your email address will not be published.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Is AI of interest to your business?
View Results
Stay on top of developments across the markets with our weekly newsletter.
Reach out to us!
Magazine archive
Editors’ Top Picks
© 2026 Recycling International
