Researchers Develop Highly Efficient Solar Battery Using Old Solar Panels | Be Korea-savvy

Researchers Develop Highly Efficient Solar Battery Using Old Solar Panels


A solar facility set on a mountain slope collapsed in Cheongdo County in North Gyeongsang Province, 325 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on July 3, 2018, shown in this photo provided by the county office.

A solar facility set on a mountain slope collapsed in Cheongdo County in North Gyeongsang Province, 325 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on July 3, 2018, shown in this photo provided by the county office.

SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire)The Korea Institute of Energy Research said Thursday that its research team had succeeded in developing a highly efficient solar cell using old solar panels.

Solar panels consist of glass, aluminum, silicon and copper, 80 percent of which can be recycled using appropriate recovery technology.

The recycling technology developed by the research team includes automated disassembly of frames and junction boxes, separation of high purity glass, recovery of valuable metals, and rebuilding the solar panel.

The core technology lies in the separation of glass and encapsulment from the solar panel, boasting a recovery rate of almost 100 percent.

The technology requires only one-third of the electricity used by other processes. Since it doesn’t involve a mixture of separated parts and materials, it can efficiently recover high purity glass.

The research team processed the silicon retrieved from the old panels to create 6-inch ingots and wafers, which are then used to create a solar battery with 20.05 percent efficiency.

“We can recycle one ton of solar panels to reduce 1,200 kilograms of carbon dioxide,” said Lee Jin-seok, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Energy Research.

Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)

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