Contributing to the Success of Nippon Sheet Glass's Horizontal Recycling Demonstration Experiment for Solar Panel Cover Glass

Tokuyama Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President: Tomohiro Inoue) supplied solar panel cover glass (hereinafter referred to as cover glass), separated using the 'Solar Panel Low-Temperature Pyrolysis Recycling Technology' co-developed with the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), for a recycling demonstration experiment for float glass by Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO: Munehiro Hosonuma, hereinafter 'NSG'). This NSG demonstration experiment was conducted in February 2026 at the Chiba Plant float glass manufacturing kiln, confirming that the cover glass supplied by our company can be utilized as a raw material and used as recycled material without any problems.

Tokuyama's low-temperature pyrolysis method is a completed technology that uses a chemical process to completely thermally decompose the resin that firmly binds the components of solar panels inside a ceramic filter impregnated with a catalyst. This proprietary technology has made possible the horizontal recycling of cover glass into flat glass, which was previously considered impossible in terms of quality. The practical application and widespread use of horizontal recycling of cover glass will not only contribute to the construction of a resource-circulating society by recycling raw materials from discarded panels, but it is also expected to have the effect of reducing greenhouse gases.

For our company, the automation of second-generation pyrolysis equipment aimed at achieving even higher levels of efficiency, as well as the development to separate silicon from extracted PV cells to use as raw material for our semiconductor polycrystalline silicon products, have been adopted for the next NEDO subsidy project. In order to solve the problem of mass disposal of solar panels expected to arrive in the 2030s, our company will challenge the realization of 'no landfill, 100% recycling' through continuous technological development and the widespread use of advanced recycling technologies, and will continue to strive to contribute to society.

■ About Tokuyama Corporation
Tokuyama was established in 1918 in Tokuyama Town, Yamaguchi Prefecture (currently Shunan City), with the aim of domesticating soda ash, which was heavily dependent on imports at the time. In addition to traditional basic materials such as chemicals and cement, the company currently operates primarily in the field of advanced electronic materials such as polycrystalline silicon for semiconductors and high-purity IPA for the electronics industry, life science fields such as photochromic eyeglass lens materials and dental equipment, and environmental fields such as various recycling and ion exchange membranes.

For more details, please visit our website: https://www.tokuyama.co.jp/

■ NSG Group (Nippon Sheet Glass...