Dekonta launches a solar panel recycling line in Kralupy, Czechia

Dekonta has launched a solar panel recycling line in Kralupy nad Vltavou in the Mělník District. Its services are used, for example, by energy company ČEZ. The line has an annual capacity of 2000 tonnes of panels. It can sort valuable metals, glass, plastics and other materials from each panel, for use in various industries or in the production of new panels. The investment in the facility exceeded ten million crowns, Dekonta IC managing director Vojtěch Musil told reporters today.

The line enables 83 percent of the material making up a panel to be reused, without chemical processes. Operations are gradually ramping up and the line is not yet fully utilised. „We expect to reach a capacity close to our operating capacity within roughly a year,“ Musil said.

Specialist workers first prepare the panels for processing by removing their aluminium frames. The panels are then fed into the line, which consists of seven units developed by Czech engineering companies. Its components include a cutting table, a mobile crusher, a glass separator and an extractor, as well as a section that separates a fraction consisting largely of metals such as silver and copper.

The ČEZ Group aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2040, a goal it plans to meet through the massive construction of new renewable power plants, primarily solar ones. These will be built not only in large solar parks but also on the roofs of municipal buildings and homes. „We are expanding our network of partners for the responsible, environmentally sound disposal of end-of-life panels, which will become a source of valuable raw materials for Czech industry,“ said Ladislav Trylč, managing director of ČEZ Recyklace.

Glass accounts for more than 60 percent of the weight of solar panels, while aluminium makes up a fifth. Recycling also processes materials from inverters, cabling and metal structures. Aluminium frames from solar panels are processed at smelters, while waste glass is used to make foam glass insulation or as a filler in concrete mixes. Silicon and other metals, including tin, copper and silver, are recovered from the panels’ photoactive layer.

Dekonta plans to expand its activities in new energy and waste recycling. „For example, we are preparing to build a recycling line for lithium-ion batteries and are considering installing solar panels on the roofs of our halls. Symbolically, the sun itself would then supply some of the energy used to dispose of solar panels,“ said Tomáš Havlík, chairman of the board of Dekonta Holding.

Czech company Dekonta is one of the leading environmental companies in Central and Eastern Europe. Its activities include environmental consultancy, the treatment and disposal of hazardous waste, research and development of new remediation technologies, and a range of other services. It has more than 200 employees.