Foundation
On 28.06.2021 SOLAR MATERIALS GmbH was entered in the Braunschweig Commercial Register.
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Why recycle solar modules?
Our goal is a green energy supply through photovoltaics. Through our recycling process, we close the raw material cycle of photovoltaics and thus create a valuable contribution to improving the resource efficiency and CO2 balance of solar modules.
Solar modules contain a variety of raw materials such as glass, aluminum, various plastics, silicon, copper and silver. Especially the functional materials of solar cells, silicon and silver, are lost through current recycling processes and end up in landfills. SOLAR MATERIALS’ recycling process is the first in the world to recover all raw materials from solar modules in an economical and energy-efficient way.
Aluminium
Aluminum is found primarily in the frame of solar modules and accounts for about 13% of the mass. The recovered aluminum can be fed to the manufacturing industry.
Silver
Silver er makes up 0.07% of the total mass of the solar module. This is mainly found on the conductor paths. After recycling, the silver can be used again for technical applications.
Copper
The busbars and the connecting cables of a solar module contain 1% copper. New cables, for example, can be made from the recovered copper.
Plastic
Various plastics are processed in solar modules. The most commonly used plastics are EVA and PVF. In general, plastics make up about 8% of the total mass.
Silicon
Silicon converts the radiant energy of sunlight into electrical current through the photoelectric effect. The silicon we recover is processed into pure silicon by our partner JPM Silicon.
Glass
The front glass of a solar module serves to protect the cells from environmental influences and accounts for around 75% of the total mass. Through our new recycling approach, we recover the glass in high purity.
What does SOLAR MATERIALS do?
We are a start-up from Magdeburg that deals with the recycling of solar modules. We develop technologies to recycle photovoltaic modules (PV modules) cleanly and economically. By using physical-mechanical processes, we avoid the use of cost-intensive and less sustainable chemicals. Our goal is the complete recovery of all raw materials.
History
Investment by bmp
In October 2021, bmp Ventures AG invested in SOLAR MATERIALS GmbH with IBG RKF III.
Patent application
On 10.11.2021 the patent application of our process was filed at the German Trademark and Patent Office.
Registration of the trademark
In November 2021 SOLAR MATERIALS was registered as a word-picture trademark at the German Patent and Trademark Office.
Contact
Operations & Business Development
Fridolin Franke
f.franke@solar-materials.com
Research & Development
Jan Bargel
j.bargel@solar-materials.com
Strategy & Organization
Dr.-Ing. Jan-Philipp Mai
jp.mai@solar-materials.com
Adress
SOLAR MATERIALS GmbH Paul-Ecke-Straße 4 39114 Magdeburg
For a quick contact write us an e-mail at:
info@solar-materials.com.News
Participation in the Katapult Accelerator
Since October 2022 SOLAR MATERIALS GmbH is 1 of 23 start-ups in the Katapult Accelerator
Registration as a trademark
In November 2021, SOLAR MATERIALS was registered as a figurative word mark at the German Patent and Trademark Office.
bmp invests in SOLAR MATERIALS
In October 2021, bmp Ventures AG invested in SOLAR MATERIALS GmbH with IBG RKF III.
Move to the Hit Campus
In October 2021, SOLAR MATERIALS GmbH moved its headquarters from Braunschweig to Magdeburg and is now part of the Hit Campus.
eit RawMaterials Accelerator
In September 2021, SOLAR MATERIALS GmbH started its participation in the eit RawMaterials Accelerator Phase 1.
Circular Valley Accelerator
In June 2021, SOLAR MATERIALS GmbH started its participation in the Circular Economy Accelerator.
Foundation
On 28.06.2021 SOLAR MATERIALS GmbH was entered in the Braunschweig Commercial Register.
MO.IN Accelerator
On 01.10.2020, the team participated in a three-month coaching of MO.IN on the topic of start-up.
RESCUE research project between SOLAR MATERIALS and Fraunhofer CSP
Together with Fraunhofer CSP, SOLAR MATERIALS is investigating the efficient recycling of solar modules in the RESCUE project through computer-aided and data-driven process optimization. The project is supported by IB-Sachsen-Anhalt with funds from the ESI-Fond EFRE. In addition to improving energy efficiency, the goals of the research project are to achieve higher grade purity of individual raw material fractions for our industrial recycling technology.
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