After several years of hard work the PHOTORAMA project has successfully reached its conclusion in 2025. The project, funded by the European Union, has made significant contributions to the sustainable management of photovoltaic (PV) panels at their end-of-life.
Main accomplishments
- Established a successful pilot line integrating a series of mechanical and chemical recycling technologies to recover high-purity secondary raw materials from end-of-life photovoltaic panels
- Developed re-use applications for secondary raw materials materials in a circular economy approach
- Explored economic, environmental, regulatory, and societal frameworks to improve the collection and recycling treatment of End-of-Life PV panels.
- Engaged with stakeholders, policymakers, schools, and the broader public through workshops, social media campaigns, and innovative artistic collaborations, to raise awareness about the importance of PV recycling.
- Got the Innovation Awards of the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) 2024.
What can we learn form the project?
Throughout the project, we identified a range of barriers and drivers affecting the circularity of PV panels. Based on these insights, we propose the following recommendations:
Economic Perspective
- Further technical improvements and scaling up of PV recycling technologies are needed, supported by national and EU-level instruments (e.g., EU Innovation Fund).
- Economically viable high-value recycling requires sufficient volume of PV waste, but waste collection and treatment are fragmented across Europe.
- Encourage reuse of functional PV panels with controlled exports to prevent from environmental burden where PV recycling is not available and ensure sustainability.
Regulatory Perspective
- Establish a separate category for PV panels within the WEEE directive, recognising their long lifespan and valuable, critical metals.
- EU-level regulation is essential; modifications to the WEEE directive must be followed up with proper implementation by all Member States.
- Support a strong regulatory environment for high-value recycling.
Awareness-Raising Perspective
- Innovatively communicate the importance of high-value PV recycling to ensure societal readiness and continued acceptance of solar energy.
- Broaden messaging beyond economic benefits of PV recycling to include environmental benefits and geopolitical considerations, highlighting reduced raw material import dependency.