Trina Solar, a leading Chinese photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer, has introduced what it describes as the world’s first fully recyclable crystalline silicon solar module. This new panel boasts an impressive 645 W power output and an efficiency rate of 20.7%.
In a recent announcement, the company highlighted that the module is built using n-type TOPCon technology and features a “golden-size” design. Trina Solar achieved this innovation through proprietary recycling methods that recover materials such as silicon, silver, aluminum frames, and glass from discarded solar modules.
Key to the breakthrough are Trina Solar’s advanced techniques, which include interlayer separation reagents, chemical etching processes, and wet chemical methods for silver extraction. While specific details of these processes were not disclosed, the company revealed that it has already applied for 37 patents related to PV module recycling.
