Gemeinsames Angebot bündelt kostenfreien Modulrückbau sowie Recycling

Press Release

Wer einen Solarpark zurückbaut, revampt oder repowert, steht nicht nur vor der Herausforderung die Solarmodule fachgerecht zu entsorgen, sondern diese zunächst einmal abzubauen. SOLAR MATERIALS und GME clean power bündeln diese Leistungen jetzt in einem gemeinsamen Angebot für 0,00€. Dabei übernimmt GME deutschlandweit die Demontage kristalliner Solarmodule von der Unterkonstruktion. Die demontierten Module werden anschließend von SOLAR MATERIALS recycelt. Bis zu 99 Prozent der enthaltenen Materialien gelangen so zurück in den Wirtschaftskreislauf. Für Betreiber und Asset Owner reduziert sich dadurch nicht nur der organisatorische Aufwand, sondern auch die Kostenstruktur eines Projekts.

Steigende Modulleistungen machen Revamping und Repowering für viele Bestandsanlagen wirtschaftlich attraktiv. Doch bevor neue Module installiert werden können, müssen die bestehenden Module fachgerecht demontiert werden. Die Organisation mehrerer Dienstleister erhöht dabei den Aufwand, Schnittstellen und Kosten.

Das gemeinsame Angebot von SOLAR MATERIALS und GME clean power reduziert diese Komplexität und spart Kosten. Betreiber erhalten Rückbau und Recycling aus einer Hand. Statt mehrere Dienstleister zu koordinieren, greifen beide Leistungen direkt ineinander.

„Revamping & Repowering-Projekte müssen vor allem eins sein: wirtschaftlich und planbar. Gemeinsam mit GME clean power schaffen wir einen einfachen Weg, Demontage und Recycling effizient miteinander zu verbinden“, erklärt Jan-Philipp Mai, Co-Founder & CEO von SOLAR MATERIALS.

Nach der Demontage beginnt für die Module ein zweites Leben. SOLAR MATERIALS extrahiert 99 Prozent der enthaltenen Materialien. Anschließend fließen die Rohstoffe in industrielle Anwendungen. Für Betreiber bedeutet das: Die ausgebauten Module werden nicht zum Entsorgungsproblem, sondern einem neuen Verwertungsprozess zugeführt.

Die Aufgaben sind klar verteilt: GME clean power übernimmt die Demontage der Solarmodule von der Unterkonstruktion. Diese, die Fundamente sowie weitere bauliche Anlagenteile sind daher vom Angebot ausgenommen. Ihr Rückbau ist stark projektabhängig. SOLAR MATERIALS verantwortet die anschließende Annahme und Materialrückgewinnung.

„Durch die klare Aufgabenverteilung können wir den Modulrückbau effizient, zuverlässig und unkompliziert umsetzen“, sagt Ronny Hager, Co-Founder & Vorstand der GME Clean Power AG.

Die Einführung des gemeinsamen Angebots hat einen besonderen Anlass für SOLAR MATERIALS. Das Unternehmen feiert am 23. Juni 2026 fünfjähriges Bestehen. Zeitgleich präsentiert sich SOLAR MATERIALS im neuen Markenauftritt. Dieser spiegelt die Entwicklung vom Technologie-Start-up zum industriellen Recyclingunternehmen wider.

In den vergangenen fünf Jahren hat SOLAR MATERIALS Verfahren zur Rückgewinnung wertvoller Rohstoffe aus Solarmodulen entwickelt und kontinuierlich skaliert. Durch die Kooperation mit GME cleanpower erweitert sich das Leistungsportfolio für Betreiber von Solarparks um einen weiteren praxisnahen Baustein.

Das gemeinsame Angebot von SOLAR MATERIALS und GME clean power ist ab dem 23. Juni 2026 deutschlandweit verfügbar.

EIC Fund and NOVA by Saint-Gobain are joining as new investors, alongside the existing investors IBG Funds and First Imagine!

SOLAR MATERIALS GmbH secures up to 20M in a 1st Closing of a Series B with a first closing tranche of 15M. EIC Fund of the European Commission and NOVA by Saint-Gobain are joining as new investors, alongside the existing Investors bmp ventures with their IBG Funds and First Imagine! The capital will be used to expand recycling capacity in Germany and to accelerate expansion into additional European markets. NOVA by Saint Gobain joins with strategic capital for the expansion of SOLAR MATERIALS.

Press Release

After decades of generating clean energy, solar panels reach their end of life carrying something the industry urgently needs: a domestic source of glass, aluminum, and copper, as well as the critical raw materials like silver and silicon. SOLAR MATERIALS extracts these valuable secondary raw materials.

SOLAR MATERIALS patented process recovers all materials of a module’s mass by weight, separating materials cleanly and in industrially usable quality. The process is designed for crystalline silicon solar panels, which account for more than 95% of the global module stock and the vast majority of end-of-life recycling volume. In parallel, SOLAR MATERIALS is already researching solutions for next-generation module technologies.

“Solar panels are not just a source of clean energy — they are an underestimated raw material source that grows with every panel installed. Tens of thousands of tons are already coming in from Germany alone. By 2030, we’re talking about millions,” says Dr. Jan-Philipp Mai, Co-Founder and CEO of SOLAR MATERIALS.

David Stuck, Co-CEO of SOLAR MATERIALS, underscores the significance of the round: “The renewed commitment of our existing investors and the confidence shown by our new partners validate our direction. This financing round is a key milestone on the path to realizing our growth strategy.”

Jan Bargel, Co-Founder and CTO of the company, adds: “Our recycling technology is industrially scalable and delivers outstanding raw material quality. This is urban mining that actually works. With this investment, we will continue to scale our technology — in Germany and across Europe.”

With Saint-Gobain, SOLAR MATERIALS gains a major strategic investor. NOVA by Saint-Gobain, the specialized branch for partnerships and venture capital investments at the company, invests in promising startups that deliver concrete solutions aligned with the Group strategy in light and sustainable construction. The investment is a validation of SOLAR MATERIALS’ business model and the quality of its Magdeburg-produced recycled glass, which finds its way back into Saint-Gobain’s industrial production.

“We have full confidence in the team and in the technology SOLAR MATERIALS has developed to successfully scale solar panel recycling across Europe enabling the reintegration of recycled glass into Saint-Gobain float glass operations,” said Basma Kharrat, Vice President of External Venturing, NOVA by Saint-Gobain.

Following a successful EIC Accelerator Grant, the EIC Fund is now entering as an equity investor. The investment arm of the European Innovation Council (EIC) is reserved for companies that have been recognized through the EIC program as innovative and capable of scaling across Europe. For SOLAR MATERIALS, this marks the logical continuation of a European growth story.

“SOLAR MATERIALS exemplifies what European innovation can achieve: turning a patented process into a scalable industrial business,” says Svetoslava Georgieva, Chair of the EIC FundBoard.

IBG Funds managed by bmp Ventures AG and First Imagine! have supported SOLAR MATERIALS since its earliest stages and are investing again.
“With its facility in Magdeburg, SOLAR MATERIALS has proven its outstanding recycling technology. The European market is growing fast; now it’s time to scale and to expand. For us, this follow-on investment is the natural step in supporting a company that has impressed us right from the start”, says Oliver Borrmann, Managing Partner of bmp Ventures.

“Solar Materials has demonstrated traction across every critical dimension: a dedicated, highly motivated team, compelling commercial development, and a market that is just beginning to gain momentum. That is exactly what we look for as investors,” says Boris Dorin, Partner at First Imagine!

Stefan Müller, Co-Founder and COO of Enerparc AG, joins the Advisory Board. Müller has helped shape the solar industry for more than three decades and understands the end-of-life module market from the perspective of a large-scale plant operator.

“What happens to solar panels at the end of their useful life is an open question the entire industry must answer,” says Stefan Müller. “SOLAR MATERIALS has an answer that makes economic sense. It is rare to accompany a company that addresses a genuine industrial need while simultaneously contributing to Europe’s raw material sovereignty. I am convinced: this is just the beginning.”

SOLAR MATERIALS GmbH, headquartered in Magdeburg, Germany, specializes in the high-value recycling of end-of-life solar modules. The company’s patented process enables the recovery of critical raw materials such as silver and silicon at high purity levels — in contrast to conventional shredding processes, in which these materials are lost.

www.solar-materials.com

bmp Ventures AG is one of Germany’s most experienced venture capital investors. Founded in Berlin in 1997, the firm has financed more than 250 startups and supported over 130 trade sales and IPOs. bmp manages the IBG venture capital funds of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, with a total volume of more than EUR 160 million.

www.bmp.com | www.ibg-vc.de 

First Imagine! is a European venture capital investor focused on the energy transition. Founded in 2016, the firm invests in technology-driven startups across the energy transition value chain. First Imagine! is a member of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA).

www.firstimagine.com

NOVA by Saint-Gobain is the venture capital arm of Saint-Gobain, the worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction. Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and services adapted to the residential, non-residential and infrastructure markets, and providing sustainability, performance and well-being for its customers

With a presence in Asia, Europe, and the Americas, NOVA by Saint-Gobain scouts and supports entrepreneurs advancing sustainability aligned with the Group’s priorities. Through strategic partnerships with Saint-Gobain business units and minority investments, NOVA by Saint-Gobain connects the global startup community with the resources, expertise, and reach of Saint-Gobain to tackle today’s needs and tomorrow’s challenges.

www.nova-saint-gobain.com

The European Innovation Council Fund from the European Commission is a deep tech investor across all technologies. The EIC Fund aims to fill a critical financing gap, to support companies in the development and commercialization of disruptive technologies. With its large network of capital providers and strategic partners, it shares risk and crowds in market players.

https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-fund_en

SOLAR MATERIALS has doubled its annual recycling capacity for solar modules to 14,000 tons. At the same time, the company is introducing a flexible capacity model designed to accelerate its expansion into additional European markets.

Since spring 2025, SOLAR MATERIALS has operated the world’s most advanced industrial-scale recycling plant for solar modules. The decision to double capacity is driven by rising demand for recycling solutions for end-of-life panels and by the pressing need to recover strategic raw materials such as silicon and silver.

Press Release

Thanks to the modular design of its recycling line, SOLAR MATERIALS can respond rapidly to growing demand in European and global markets. Entire system modules can be relocated within weeks. The company’s current expansion strategy focuses on strengthening Europe’s energy and resource sovereignty, prioritizing its home market of Germany as well as core European markets and the United Kingdom.

With its patented mechanical process, SOLAR MATERIALS recovers all materials from discarded solar modules. The resulting secondary raw materials flow back into European value chains. Silicon and silver, in particular, are considered critical resources. By reclaiming them, the company helps secure Europe’s long-term supply of essential materials.
“Our technology is ready for the European market. We can deploy our recycling line to new locations in a very short time and build up infrastructure exactly where end-of-life modules are generated,” says Dr. Jan-Philipp Mai, CEO of SOLAR MATERIALS. “Every ton we recycle keeps valuable materials in Europe — silver, silicon, aluminium, copper, glass. That’s not just environmentally responsible; it also strengthens the EU’s economic independence.”

Since 2021, Magdeburg-based SOLAR MATERIALS GmbH has recycled solar modules that have reached the end of their service life. Its fully automated process recovers all materials cost-effectively, including silicon and silver.

Certified as a specialist waste-management company since 2023, SOLAR MATERIALS launched the first industrial recycling line dedicated exclusively to solar modules in April 2025. The line has an annual capacity of 14,000 tons. For 2026, the company plans to triple its capacity and establish additional sites abroad.
Recovered secondary materials require up to 95% less energy and generate 80% fewer CO₂ emissions compared with primary raw materials.

www.solar-materials.com

Magdeburg, September 30, 2025 – SOLAR MATERIALS, the German recycling company for solar panels, has entered into a cooperation with AGC Glass Europe, one of Europe’s leading flat glass manufacturers. Together, both partners will use glass recovered from end-of-life solar panels in AGC’s float glass production.

Press Release

Every solar panel consists of around 70 percent glass. Until now, much of this glass was lost after dismantling. With its patented, chemical-free process, SOLAR MATERIALS achieves a recovery rate of 98 percent of a panel’s total weight – including glass, aluminum, silicon, and copper. The recovered flat glass cullet is of such purity that it can directly re-enter the value chain. One tonne of cullet saves 1.2 tonnes of raw material and avoids 0.7 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. AGC Glass Europe will use this cullet in its float glass furnaces. The cooperation creates a closed loop: glass from solar panels becomes new glass for example for buildings.

“Our aim is to integrate our recycling solution into the European value chain as efficiently as possible,” says Dr. Jan-Philipp Mai, co-founder and CEO of SOLAR MATERIALS. “Since glass is the heaviest part of a solar panel, its reuse strongly reduces logistics and secures recycling quotas. With AGC, we have a partner who turns our cullet into new products on an industrial scale. Our Magdeburg site is the model for further cooperation across Europe.”

Dr. Marc Foguenne, Vice-President Sustainability at AGC Glass Europe, adds: “We believe in supporting PV panel recycling startups like SOLAR MATERIALS that are developing innovative and diverse technologies. This is essential to collect, sort and treat the immense and growing volume of PV panel waste generated in Europe. When processed correctly, the resulting cullet is of exceptionally high purity and can be fed back into our float glass production in a fully circular model, creating new glass for buildings and automotive windshields, right here in Europe. This is a significant step in our journey towards our sustainability goals of cutting CO2 emissions and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.”

For SOLAR MATERIALS, the partnership is a milestone in expanding its network of industrial users of recycled glass. It also shows how local value chains can be built: collection, recycling, and production remain within Europe, saving resources and cutting emissions.

At this year’s E-Waste World Conference & Expo in Frankfurt, experts, innovators, and industry leaders gathered to discuss one of the fastest-growing waste streams on the planet: electronic waste. OF course SOLAR MATERIALS and Circular Silicon joined the conversation.

Press Release

Few realize that solar panels, once symbols of clean energy, are becoming part of the e-waste problem. After about 25–30 years of use, panels reach the end of their lifecycle. What remains is a layered structure of glass, plastic, silicon, and silver—too valuable to discard, too complex to recycle without the right technology.

E-waste is more than just discarded electronics. It is a reservoir of rare and critical materials. In solar cells, elements like silicon and silver play vital roles. Each cell contains just a fraction, but on a global scale, the total is immense. Without dedicated recycling solutions, these non-renewable materials are lost forever. That is why SOLAR MATERIALS and Circular Silicon have taken on this challenge—and rethought recycling from the ground up. By developing new processes that go beyond conventional methods, we have made it possible to recover silicon and silver from end-of-life solar panels. It’s a shift that doesn’t just manage the waste—it turns it into a resource. And it’s what finally makes the solar industry truly green.

Recycling is not a side act of the green transition—it is a main stage. Effective e-waste recycling feeds the circular economy. It transforms discarded tech into new resources, reduces dependency on raw mining, and keeps valuable materials in use.

At our joint booth, SOLAR MATERIALS and Circular Silicon met with industry peers, researchers, and policymakers. Discussions circled around real solutions and scalable technology. The tone was clear: circularity is not optional—it is essential.

The E-Waste World Conference & Expo was not just a trade fair. It was a pulse check on where we stand—and where we need to go. We are proud to be part of the shift toward smarter recycling and a truly circular industries.

Solar Materials has achieved a landmark milestone by winning the prestigious Gold Winner – European Solar Sustainability Award 2024. This recognition not only celebrates the company’s innovative approach to solar panel recycling but also reinforces its commitment to driving sustainability in the renewable energy sector.

Press Release

At Solar Materials, sustainability isn’t just a goal—it’s the foundation of everything we do. Our mission is to transform the solar industry into a circular economy, ensuring that solar energy remains as green as it promises to be. Winning this award is a testament to the vision, dedication, and expertise that our team brings to this mission every day.

By adopting innovative recycling processes, Solar Materials has set a new standard for how end-of-life solar panels are handled. This breakthrough approach has been instrumental in addressing one of the industry’s most pressing challenges: the need for a sustainable lifecycle for solar modules.

The project that earned Solar Materials this top honor centers on its state-of-the-art automated recycling process, which is both efficient and environmentally friendly. Unlike conventional methods that rely on shredding and basic material sorting, Solar Materials has developed a unique system capable of recovering 98% of the raw materials from used solar panels.

• 80% Lower Carbon Footprint: The recycled materials from Solar Materials have a significantly reduced environmental impact compared to primary raw materials.
• Conservation of Resources: By reclaiming valuable materials like glass, silicon, and metals, the process minimizes waste and conserves natural resources.
• Closed-Loop Sustainability: This innovative approach supports the creation of a circular economy, ensuring that solar panels can be recycled and repurposed for future use.

Through these efforts, Solar Materials is proving that a sustainable solar industry is not only achievable but also vital for the global fight against climate change.

Sustainability has always been the cornerstone of solar energy’s promise. While solar power is clean and renewable, its true environmental impact depends on the entire lifecycle of the panels themselves. Without effective recycling methods, solar panels risk becoming an environmental burden once they reach the end of their life cycle.

Solar Materials addresses this challenge head-on by ensuring that solar panels can be reused and their components reintegrated into the supply chain. By closing the loop, the company supports the broader renewable energy movement, showcasing how the solar industry can lead the way in environmental stewardship.

Winning the European Solar Sustainability Award 2024 is more than just a proud moment for Solar Materials—it’s a beacon of inspiration for the entire industry. Awards like these:

• Spotlight Innovation: They highlight groundbreaking solutions that pave the way for a more sustainable future.
• Encourage Collaboration: Sharing best practices fosters industry-wide progress and innovation.
• Inspire Action: By celebrating success, awards motivate others to adopt more sustainable practices.

For Solar Materials, this accolade reinforces its commitment to pushing boundaries and delivering impactful solutions. It’s a reminder that bold ideas, backed by dedicated teams, can drive meaningful change.

As Solar Materials celebrates this achievement, the company remains focused on its mission: revolutionizing solar panel recycling and advancing a sustainable solar industry. This award is a milestone, but the journey doesn’t stop here.

With the recognition and momentum from the European Solar Sustainability Award 2024, Solar Materials is more determined than ever to lead the charge toward a truly circular economy for solar energy.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to innovate and inspire a greener future.

Habeck visits SOLAR MATERIALS solar panel recycling plant in Magdeburg

Press Release

Magdeburg. On Thursday, 11 July 2024, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection in Germany, Robert Habeck, visited SOLAR MATERIALS GmbH the technology leader in the recycling of solar modules in Magdeburg.

During his visit, Habeck emphasised the importance of recycling solar modules for the German economy and climate protection. Germany is at the forefront of the global solar boom. The world’s first market for the recycling of solar modules is therefore emerging here. By 2035, a quarter of a million tonnes of solar modules will be ready for recycling. The reason for the end of life is weather damage, production defects or age. SOLAR MATERIALS is already receiving recycling requests in the order of several hundred lorries.

The speed of authorisation procedures for the storage of solar modules was also discussed with Habeck. These take months, even though the authorities have no concerns and the storage areas are ready to go.

The EU POP Regulation, which requires declaration analyses for more than 130,000 module types, also jeopardises competitiveness in solar recycling. This is because some manufacturers no longer exist or customers do not have the data sheets.

Magdeburg. Am Donnerstag, dem 11. Juli 2024, besuchte der Bundesminister für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, Robert Habeck, die SOLAR MATERIALS GmbH in Magdeburg, den Technologieführer beim Recycling von Solarmodulen.

Mit seinem Besuch hat Habeck die Bedeutung des Recyclings von Solarmodulen für die deutsche Wirtschaft sowie den Klimaschutz hervorgehoben. Deutschland ist Vorreiter des globalen Solar-Booms. Somit entsteht hier weltweit der erste Markt für das Recycling der Solarmodule. Bis zum Jahr 2035 sind eine Viertel Millionen Tonnen Solarmodule bereit für das Recycling. Der Grund für das Lebensende sind Wetterschäden,Produktionsfehler oder das Alter. Bereits heute erhält SOLAR MATERIALS Recyclinganfragen in Größenordnungen von mehreren hundert LKWs.

Zudem wurde mit Habeck über die Geschwindigkeit von Genehmigungsverfahren zur Lagerung von Solarmodulen diskutiert. Diese dauern Monate, obwohl aus Sicht der Behörden keine Bedenken bestehen und die Lagerflächen startklar sind.

Auch die EU-POP-Verordnung, die Deklarationsanalysen für mehr als 130.000 Modultypen vorsieht, gefährdet die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit im Solarrecycling. Denn Hersteller existieren teilweise nicht mehr oder Kunden besitzen die Datenblätter nicht.

With the aim to close the raw material cycle in the solar industry, SOLAR MATERIALS developed its own patented recycling technology for solar modules, which recovers all raw materials from end-of-life solar modules, including silver and silicon economically.

www.solar-materials.com

Magdeburg 04.06.2024 – SOLAR MATERIALS, a cleantech startup from Magdeburg for solar panel recycling, announced the successful closing of its EUR 12.2 million Series A round. With the funding, the company builds its first industrial sized recycling plant in Magdeburg and increases its recycling capacity to over 10,000 tons or 500,000 solar panels per year.

Press Release

“The new plant will be commissioned around May 2025 at a new site in Magdeburg and will create around 20 new jobs in the region.” says co-founder Fridolin Franke. The plant will act as the company’s blueprint for the international rollout, as the volume of solar panel waste is growing exponentially globally. “We already plan to open a second site for the primary treatment of solar panels in southern Germany this year as we see increasing demand in Germany, as today’s largest solar panel recycling market” comments Fridolin Franke further.

The financing round was funded by the company’s existing investors bmp Ventures with the IBG funds, First Imagine!, and Katapult with an additional grant component of the EIC Accelerator.

Boris Dorin, Partner at First Imagine!, comments

“SOLAR MATERIALS could quickly position itself in the German recycling market, which is currently Europe’s largest market. This proofed the solution to be technically and commercially feasible. Since our investment into the up and running pilot, the company demonstrated its technology to be robust, scalable, and efficient to become a global solution. SOLAR MATERIALS underlines our mission to support great cleantech companies to create a sustainable future and build a circular economy.”

The investment into the first industrial recycling plant is the response to the rapidly increasing demand. Since November 2023, SOLAR MATERIALS recycles solar panels as a certified waste treatment company for solar panels and proofed their technology on commercial scale. “In the minute we were fully certified, we received overwhelming request for our recycling services and the recycled raw materials. With the current backlog of orders and request, recycling volumes already fill our capacity for the next year.” comments co-founder Dr. Jan-Philipp Mai.

Solar is one of the pillars of the energy transition and recycling solar panels plays a crucial role to achieve truly green solar energy. Over 100 million tons of solar panels are already installed, and they are an important source of raw materials. Today’s recycling processes are based on the traditional shredding and sorting recycling approach. While this allows glass, copper and aluminum to be recovered, the functional materials of the solar cells silicon and silver are lost. SOLAR MATERIALS has developed its own process to recover the previously lost raw materials silicon and silver.

David Stuck, Principal at bmp Ventures and the responsible investment manager, says

“SOLAR MATERIALS has succeeded in positioning itself as a leading technology player in an attractive growth market thanks to its professional setup, strong founders and its ESG and impact-compliant business model – keyword Circular Economy. SOLAR MATERIALS thus not only underpins our successful investment approach but can also make a significant contribution to the global and sustainable energy transition. The company’s ambitious expansion targets can be further accelerated with the conclusion of the Series A financing round. In addition, we will closely support the management and help develop the company to a new size level.”

As the volume of solar panel waste is rising globally, it becomes more and more important to establish collecting systems and recycling plants in other countries as well. A look at the overall balance sheet of SOLAR MATERIALS’ technology shows that cost-effectiveness and ecology are not mutually exclusive. Not only is the process economically sustainable, but the recycled raw materials require about 80% less energy than their primary production. Jan Bargel, co-founder & CTO explains “With the first of a kind (FOAK) industrial plant we will proof our technology to be easy to operate, highly scalable, and thus a perfect solution to tackle the global challenge.”

Carl Strøm Walton, Investment Director at Katapult VC, a leading Norwegian climate tech-focused fund and accelerator, adds

“Since originally investing in SOLAR MATERIALS back in 2022, we have worked closely with the team and become ever more impressed and convinced by their vision and the viability of their unique solution. The SOLAR MATERIALS solution can be game-changing in solving circularity of raw materials in the solar energy space. This Series A represents a critical inflection point in the journey as it paves the way for their industrial scale FOAK site which will act as the blueprint towards global expansion.”

With the financing round now completed, the company considers itself well equipped to respond to the growing demand and make solar energy a real green energy source.

“This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101145463.”

The cleantech startup SOLAR MATERIALS develops technologies for recycling solar panels. With their patented recycling process, all raw materials of the solar modules to be recycled can be recovered economically. The focus is particularly on the functional materials silver and silicon as well as high-quality glass to close the raw material cycle of solar and contributes to a green energy supply.

www.solar-materials.com

With a track record of over 250 investments across nearly all technology segments, mainly in the early-stage phase, bmp Ventures is one of the most experienced venture capital investors in Germany. In addition to direct investments, bmp managed venture capital funds for institutions such as the KfW Banking Group and DEG, the German Investment and Development Corporation. Currently, bmp oversees the IBG funds in Saxony-Anhalt and employs approximately 20 experts across its Berlin and Magdeburg locations.

www.bmp.com

First Imagine! is a European-based venture investor exclusively focused on the energy transition, covering a broad range of technologies from energy generation to transmission and distribution, to consumption and demand management. First Imagine! specifically targets startups at the early commercialization stage, primarily in Europe (EU, UK, Nordics) and Israel.

Established in 2016, First Imagine! has a distributed team with over 50 years of combined expertise in the power industry to help startups in the energy transition space to grow and thrive, while contributing to a more sustainable future.

www.firstimagine.com

The IBG funds, headquartered in Magdeburg, are the venture capital funds of the country of Saxony-Anhalt – they provide capital to young, innovative technology companies with sustainable and above average growth potential, based in Saxony-Anhalt. By the end of 2023, IBG launched the new venture capital fund, RKF IV, with a volume of 63 million euros. The fund is financed by the state and the European Union and invests in innovative startups in Saxony-Anhalt in the seed, early stage, and expansion. The IBG funds are managed by bmp Ventures AG.

www.ibg-vc.de

The European Innovation Council Fund from the European Commission is a deep tech investor across all technologies. The EIC Fund aims to fill a critical financing gap, to support companies in the development and commercialization of disruptive technologies. With its large network of capital providers and strategic partners, it shares risk and crowds in market players.

https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-fund_en

Katapult VC is a global investment company focusing on early stage impact driven technology startups. Over the last 7 years, Katapult has made 169 investments in impact tech startups from 47 different countries. Katapult has primarily invested within three verticals: Ocean, Climate and Africa. In 2021, Katapult launched the Katapult Foundation with the aim of building a larger network around impact investing. Katapult also hosts the annual Katapult Future Fest in Oslo, bringing together founders, investors and some of the most prominent figures within impact investment.

www.katapult.vc

We are excited to share that Solar Materials has been recognized as a Top 1% Scale-Up at the Founders Games 2024 by the WEBIT Foundation. This incredible honor highlights our efforts to revolutionize the solar industry and underscores the global potential of our mission to create a circular economy for solar energy.

Press Release

This recognition as a Top 1% Scale-Up fuels our commitment to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in solar recycling and sustainability. It inspires us to:

• Continue innovating and improving our technologies.
• Scale our solutions to reach more markets worldwide.
• Advocate for sustainability and circular economy practices in the renewable energy sector.

The Founders Games provided an unparalleled platform for connecting with world-class mentors, investors, and industry leaders. Presenting our vision to such a distinguished audience not only brought valuable insights but also opened doors to new partnerships that will help us scale our impact even further.

Competing alongside some of the world’s brightest minds reminded us of the collective potential we hold to address global challenges. This achievement isn’t just about Solar Materials—it’s about the growing momentum toward a sustainable future.

As we celebrate this milestone, we’re already focused on what’s next. Our journey is far from over, and the road ahead is filled with opportunities to make solar energy even greener and more sustainable.

We want to thank the WEBIT Foundation and the Founders Games for this incredible honor and for creating a platform where visionary ideas can thrive. To our team, partners, and supporters—this achievement is yours as much as it is ours.

Together, we’re proving that sustainability and innovation are the keys to a brighter, greener future. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to lead the charge for a truly circular solar industry!

With the aim to close the raw material cycle in the solar industry, SOLAR MATERIALS developed its own patented recycling technology for solar modules, which recovers all raw materials from end-of-life solar modules, including silver and silicon economically.

www.solar-materials.com