1. Industry background and challenges

The "Draft Ecological Environment Code of the People's Republic of China" is the second law in China named "Code". Article 977 of the draft clearly proposes to "establish and improve the responsibility system for the disposal of retired equipment of wind power and photovoltaic power generation enterprises ". However, from policy design to implementation, there are still key bottlenecks. Zhuo Chen, assistant director of the Green Development Center of Tsinghua Suzhou Institute of Environmental Innovation, pointed out that it is urgent to clarify the definition of producer responsibility and cost sharing mechanism through subsequent legislation . A clear division of rights, responsibilities and interests is an important prerequisite for preventing photovoltaic modules from becoming environmental negative assets after retirement.

The EU Sustainable Ecodesign Directive (ESPR) has officially come into effect, introducing a digital product passport mechanism that requires the disclosure of environmental data throughout the product life cycle. Director Juanjuan Yao of the Swedish Environmental Research Institute pointed out: "This has been upgraded from a technical barrier to the 'lifeline' of international market access." Although the EPD certification tool developed by her team has opened export channels for some leading companies, the photovoltaic industry as a whole still faces the challenge of insufficient compliance capabilities.

Bingnan Li , manager of the "Air Man" organization, emphasized that developing countries are facing the dual dilemma of "shortage of recycling facilities" and "energy constraints", and called for the inclusion of photovoltaic recycling in the framework of the Basel Convention and the establishment of a transnational coordination mechanism.

2. Technological innovation and breakthrough

At the seminar, three companies showcased the latest achievements in photovoltaic module recycling technology. Yi Dao introduced physical recycling technology and suggested integrating supply sources through the "Internet + Smart Recycling Platform" and exploring new business models such as "artistic reuse of retired modules".

JinkoSolar showcased the world's first "zero-carbon PV module" - green electricity is used throughout the production process from silicon materials to modules, reducing carbon emissions by 75% compared to conventional products.

Hudong Wang , deputy general manager of RESOLAR , demonstrated the world's first fully recycled photovoltaic module (conversion efficiency 20.7%). RESOLAR's independently developed "GST green separation method" combines the advantages of physical and chemical methods. Through the combination of self-developed materials, equipment and processes, it achieves a high separation rate in the front-end, and the back-end washing can produce 6N (99.9999%) grade silicon materials, successfully realizing the full cycle of silicon materials and metals from retired photovoltaic modules to new photovoltaic modules.

3. Industry development suggestions

Changzhou Ruisai suggested that in the future, regulations, standards and other documents should be adopted to require photovoltaic products to use recycled materials .

Ruihe Weichuan suggested forming an industrial alliance of "power generation enterprises - environmental protection companies - technology holders" to establish a new recycling order.

Lifang Ma , director of the Policy Research Department of the Renewable Energy Professional Committee of the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association, released a report titled "Research on the Construction of a Circular System in China's New Energy Industry" , proposing four major solutions: implementing producer responsibility, building a recycling network, improving the standard system, and activating the recycling market.

Article author and publication

Title: "Focus on the 'Zero Waste Future' of the Photovoltaic Industry - The Recycling Industry Chain Calls for Technological Breakthroughs and Institutional Breakthroughs"

Author: Reporter Yanchao Qiu , Editor Xinwei Kong, Proofreader Yu Zhang

Publishing platform: China Electric Power News

Original link: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1835983223957212388&wfr=spider&for=pc