Recycled Copper from Waste Solar Panels: Economic Value in Circulation-Information-Jiangxi MingxinAs the photovoltaic (PV) industry enters a large-scale decommissioning period, waste solar panels are no longer an "environmental burden." The copper resources contained therein have become an important growth driver for the circular economy, with wide applications and significant economic value. Copper in solar panels is mainly present in internal solder ribbons and wiring cables. After standardized dismantling and purification, it can be efficiently recycled and reused, unlocking multiple economic values.
The core application of recycled copper is to re-enter the core supply chain of the power and electronics industries. Copper's high electrical conductivity makes it a key raw material for wires, cables, and electronic components. The purity of recycled copper after recovery and purification can reach over 95%, which fully meets the production requirements of low-voltage cables, new PV modules, and other products. Currently, the market price of recycled copper is approximately 65,000 yuan per ton. For a recycling production line that processes 20,000 tons of waste solar panels annually, the output value generated solely from copper recovery is quite considerable. More advantageously, the comprehensive production cost of recycled copper is 30% lower than that of primary copper, with significantly reduced carbon emissions. Against the backdrop of rising copper prices, it provides downstream manufacturing industries with a low-cost and low-environmental-pressure raw material option.
Recycled copper can also be extended to high-value-added application scenarios. Through advanced technical processing, recycled copper can be converted into copper powder, copper alloys, and other products, which are used in the manufacturing of high-end products such as batteries and alloy pastes. Cutting-edge research has further transformed it into copper oxide nanoparticles, which are applied in fields such as catalysis, sensors, and biomedicine, further raising the ceiling of the economic value of resources. In terms of industrial scale, it is estimated that by 2030, China can recover 170,000 tons of copper from decommissioned PV modules. The direct value of this part of copper resources alone will help the PV recycling industry form a 100-billion-yuan market scale.
The utilization of recycled copper from waste solar panels not only solves the dual challenges of resource shortage and environmental disposal but also constructs a closed-loop profit model of "decommissioned modules - resource recovery - remanufacturing," becoming an important economic support for the sustainable development of the new energy industry.