Tokuyama's Solar Panel Recycling Technology Reaches New Heights: R&D Adopted in NEDO Public Offering

Tokuyama Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Hiroshi Yokota) announced that its project, "Low-Cost Processing Technology by Low-Temperature Pyrolysis and Cell Separation Technology for Silicon Recycling" (hereinafter, "this project"), has been adopted in the second public offering for the 2025 "Technology Development Project for Expanding Solar Power Introduction / Recycling Technology Development for Building a Circular Society" by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO; President: Tamotsu Saito).

Through joint development with NEDO over six years starting in fiscal year 2019, the company established the "low-temperature pyrolysis method," which separates cover glass and cells from solar panels using a special catalyst. Based on this technology, this project will further advance research and development of lower-cost processing technology and material recycling technology for extracting silicon from cells, which was a conventional challenge, over a three-year period until fiscal year 2028.

Through this project, Tokuyama aims to implement advanced recycling technology into society to solve the problem of mass disposal of solar panels, which is expected to arrive in the 2030s. The company will strive to contribute to the creation of a circular society by achieving "no landfill, 100% resource recovery."

1. Image Diagram [Image of solar panel recycling process]

2. About Low-Cost Processing Technology Using Tokuyama's unique low-temperature pyrolysis method, the company aims to further establish technology for the following items:

- Development of a second-generation pyrolysis furnace that improves thermal efficiency, shortens processing time, and reduces energy costs compared to the first-generation pyrolysis furnace developed by fiscal year 2024, establishment of processing conditions, and expansion of processing technology for various panels. - Construction of an automated module processing process with increased efficiency as a demonstration plant to achieve low-cost processing. - Promotion of energy saving and LCA development, and verification of economic rationality and decarbonization for the utilization of renewable energy through simulation.

3. About Material Recycling Technology The company will consider silicon recycling through cell separation, which has not yet been commercialized in Japan. By developing and demonstrating a separation process to extract silicon and silver from the cell part of solar modules obtained by the low-temperature pyrolysis method, new material recycling technology will be established.