Sinha First Solar - Standardizing High Value PV Recycling_2020-11-11

1 Parikhit Ricky Sinha, Ph.D. parikhit.sinhafirstsolar.com Standardizing High Value PV Recycling 2020 Copyright First Solar, Inc. 2 ● Problem Most PV recycling is bulk recycling aluminum, cables, glass ● Work that needs to be done Ensure recovery of semiconductor and other metals high-value recycling to promote circular economy ● PVQAT TG15 role Recommend approaches to promote and standardize high-value PV recycling ■ Top-down regulation ■ Bottom-up market pull | Overview 2020 Copyright First Solar, Inc. 3 Crucial to managing large future PV waste volumes ■ Over 600 GW PV installed worldwide Recycling is important for all PV technologies ■ Environmentally sensitive materials are common in the industry Pb, Cd, In, Se, Ag Provides socio-economic and environmental benefits ■ Minimizes life cycle impacts ■ Reclaims valuable and energy intensive materials ■ Creates jobs and economic benefits ■ Recoverable value could exceed 15bn by 2050 | Why Does High-Value PV Recycling Matter 23 40 70 100 139 177 228 303 409 512 627 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 REN21, Renewables Global Status Report, 2020 PV Installed Worldwide GW Recycling maximizes resource recovery and increases the sustainability of PV 2020 Copyright First Solar, Inc. 4 90 Recycling of Semiconductor Material and 90 Recycling of Glass | First Solar’s Module Recycling Process Shredder Hammermill Crushed/ Milled Scrap Holding Bin EVA/Glass Separation Metals Precipitation CdTe Unrefined Semiconductor Material Film Removal Solid/ Liquid Separation Glass Products Rubber Products FS PV modules Third-party Cd/Te Separation etc. | Ecolabel 2020 Copyright First Solar, Inc. 9 https//sustainableelectronics.org/r2-standard ● EHS ● Focus materials ● Throughput ● Storage ● Insurance ● Transport ● Recordkeeping | R2 standard – R2 PV standard under development