Even Greener Solar Power on the Way
January 18, 2016 | SINTEFEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Europe wants to reduce its needs for raw materials and raise the level of recycling of resources in the solar power industry. If this project is successful, greenhouse gas emissions from solar panel manufacture will fall by 25 to 30 percent.
“Our aim is that the solar cell industry should utilise materials that would otherwise end up on waste sites once solar cell panels are disposed of. We also want to make it possible to produce solar cell panels using less raw materials than we currently do.
These are the words of SINTEF scientist Martin Bellmann, who coordinates the recently launched European Union project Eco-Solar.
The project focuses on how the entire value chain in today’s solar power branch makes use of resources.
Cheaper and greener panels
Reusing materials and reducing the consumption of raw materials will make solar cell panels both cheaper and greener. When less new materials are needed, the emissions of greenhouse gases from their production will decrease.
Likewise, the energy consumed by these processes will be paid off faster than it is today.
All this should improve market penetration for European producers.
“The overarching aim is to strengthen European companies who are driven by innovation and who are able to secure Europe’s power supply in a sustainable way” says Bellmann.
Page 1 of 2
Suggested Items
CE3S Launches EcoClaim Solutions to Simplify Recycling and Promote Sustainable Manufacturing
05/29/2025 | CE3SCumberland Electronics Strategic Supply Solutions (CE3S), your strategic sourcing, professional solutions and distribution partner, is proud to announce the official launch of EcoClaim™ Solutions, a comprehensive recycling program designed to make responsible disposal of materials easier, more efficient, and more accessible for manufacturers.
American Made Advocacy: Lobbying Congress Supports the Supply Chain
05/27/2025 | Shane Whiteside -- Column: American Made AdvocacyThe upheaval in world markets is driving daily headlines. The global supply chain has seemed “normal” for the microelectronics industry because over the past three decades, an increasing percentage of microelectronics components and materials have been made overseas. For many years, other countries, primarily in Asia, invested heavily in their microelectronics industry while U.S. companies offshored manufacturing services in pursuit of the lowest cost.
Dymax to Showcase Light-Cure Solutions at The European Battery Show 2025
05/23/2025 | Dymax CorporationDymax, a global manufacturer of rapid light-curing materials and equipment, will exhibit at The European Battery Show 2025 in Stand 4-C60
Pioneering Energy-Efficient AI with Innovative Ferroelectric Technology
05/22/2025 | FraunhoferAs artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into sectors such as healthcare, autonomous vehicles and smart cities, traditional computing architectures face significant limitations in processing speed and energy efficiency
Self-Healing Materials Could Unlock the Potential of Tomorrow’s Technology, Reports IDTechEx
05/22/2025 | IDTechExA sci-fi movie trope is the virtually indestructible robot, capable of operating without rest due to extended battery life, able to interact with its surroundings like a human thanks to advanced soft robotic components, and fully autonomous due to an extensive suite of sensors.