By the end of 2024, the European PV market reached a historic milestone: cumulative capacity hit 338 GW, and for the first time, solar electricity generation surpassed coal-fired power within the EU. This growth is anchored by five key contributors: Germany leads the market with 81 GW installed, followed by Spain (49 GW), Italy (33 GW), France (28 GW), and the Netherlands (25 GW). While these figures represent a triumph for decarbonization, they also signal a massive industrial shift. To ensure the long-term success of this transition, Europe must look beyond immediate generation capacity and prioritize the resilience of its material supply chain through proactive end-of-life management.

The looming “Waste Wall”: projections and regulatory guardrails

As the first large-scale solar installations from the early 2000s reach the end of their operational lifespans, Europe faces an inevitable and rapidly growing waste stream. Anticipating this volume is a critical industrial priority to prevent a “waste wall” from overwhelming current infrastructure. Notably, this challenge is being accelerated by the “repowering” phenomenon, where operational panels are replaced early by more efficient technologies to maximize site yield, significantly moving forward the arrival of expected waste volumes.

Based on RESiLEX project projections, the volume of photovoltaic waste will grow exponentially over the coming decades:

To govern this, Directive 2012/19/EU (WEEE) provides the essential framework, treating PV panels as electronic waste. The “So What?” of this legislation lies in its mandate for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)—placing the financial and logistical burden of recycling on manufacturers and importers—and its requirement for an 85% recovery efficiency rate. These laws do more than ensure compliance; they are actively shaping a new market by mandating that valuable secondary raw materials be reclaimed for industrial reuse rather than lost to landfills.

End of Life Solar panels collected by the Resilex partner RECMA

RESiLEX technical findings and the evolution of solar hardware

One of RESiLEX’s activities focused specifically on silicon recycling from PV modules, identifying the physical and chemical barriers that currently hinder recovery efficiency. One of the primary activities involved monitoring the evolution of panel dimensions to ensure that future automated recycling lines can handle the shifting physical profile of the waste stream.

Data collected by Envie 2E Occitanie and Recma reveals a clear trend toward larger, more cumbersome hardware:

• Dimensional Expansion: average panel lengths have grown from approximately 165 cm in 2022 to 169.8 cm in 2026, with modern “Max” modules already reaching 248.5 cm.
• Width Growth: Maximum widths have increased to 130 cm, necessitating more flexible handling systems.
• The “Polymer Encapsulant” Problem: materials like ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) create a powerful bond that complicates the clean separation of glass and silicon cells.
• The Antimony Barrier: a critical technical finding identifies the presence of antimony in glass as a major disruptor. This contaminant significantly reduces the value of secondary glass, making high-value upcycling into new solar products difficult without specialized treatment . Right now dilution with antimony-free glass is the solution to send PV glass to glass manufacturers, granted the glass has the right purity for their process

As hardware evolves, European recycling techniques must move from simple mechanical crushing to sophisticated “Upcycling” that preserves material purity.

Material recovery and sovereignty aspects

Recovering Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) such as high-purity silicon, silver, and copper is a prerequisite for European industrial sovereignty. By 2030, recycling could yield up to 16,000 tonnes of high-purity silicon annually, directly reducing the continent’s reliance on Asian-dominated supply chains.

The RESiLEX project has successfully demonstrated the viability of the “PV-to-Battery Loop.” In this breakthrough model, silicon recovered from end-of-life panels is purified to a grade suitable for use in silicon-dominant anodes for advanced batteries. This creates a high-value secondary market that links the solar and e-mobility sectors. Furthermore, “Design for Recycling” (Eco-design) results have produced a sustainable hardware blueprint:

• CRM Reduction: successful development of cells featuring a 72% reduction in indium and a 50% reduction in silver.
• Bio-based Components: the use of European TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) encapsulants, which are partially bio-sourced, and fluorine-free backsheets to simplify end-of-life separation and lower recycling costs.

These technical successes provide the foundation for a high-value European recycling industry that secures resources for the next generation of clean technology.

The path forward

Technical innovation alone cannot secure Europe’s circular future; it must be supported by a harmonized regulatory and economic framework. Insights from the RESiLEX Policy Workshops suggest three critical pillars for strategic action:

• Unified Cross-Border Framework: the European Commission must harmonize the WEEE Directive to eliminate logistical bottlenecks. Currently, the status of non-hazardous PV modules, in particular c-Si and a-Si panels, is not harmonised. These modules should be classified under the green list to facilitate their cross-border transfer and allow the use of the information procedure. A true “Single Market for Waste” is required to allow the frictionless movement of panels to centralized hubs.
• Digital Product Passports (DPPs): implementing scannable material data is essential. DPPs would allow a recycling plant to instantly identify the chemical composition—such as silver content, lead presence, or polymer type , presence or not of antimony in the glass—enabling the optimization of automated mechanical and chemical recovery lines.
• Industrial Scaling: to be economically viable as standalone operations, dedicated recycling lines require a steady input of 7,000 to 10,000 tonnes annually. Policy must support the creation of specialized regional hubs that aggregate these volumes across borders to reach the thresholds required for standalone profitability.

Transforming the “waste wall” into an industrial opportunity is the cornerstone of Europe’s strategic autonomy. By closing the loop on solar materials, the EU can ensure that its transition to clean energy is as resilient and sovereign as it is sustainable.

Read more:

D5.1 – Interim report on sourcing of various kinds of Sibased end-of-life PV panels – mapping of the available amounts at national and EU level

D5.3 – Intermediate report on sourcing end-of-life PV panels in Europe

D5.6 – Final report on sourcing of various kinds of Sibased end-of-life PV panels – mapping of the available amounts at national and EU level (to be released)

Policy summary #4 PV eco-design and materials recycling: where can the EU accelerate?

Factsheet #3 – Photovoltaic Waste Management in Europe: Challenges and Opportunities