OnePlanet says it can get silicon above 95% purity from recycled solar panels

A company called OnePlanet says it has a new way to recycle old solar panels that pulls out valuable materials at high purity. The process, which the company calls PRISM, uses only mechanical steps (no heat or chemicals) to separate the glass, aluminum, copper and silicon in a panel. In testing, it recovered nearly all the glass at high purity, plus silicon over 95% pure, copper at 99% pure, and aluminum at 99.9% pure. The recovered silicon also carries a notable amount of silver, described as a richer concentration than most mined silver ore.

This matters for solar panel recycling broadly, not for anything you'd do to your own rooftop system. OnePlanet has tested this process at a demonstration site in Green Cove Springs, Florida, and plans to build it into a full production line at a new facility, called River City, backed by a $14.5 million federal tax credit under the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project program. That facility is expected to run the new process starting in 2027.

Longer term, OnePlanet wants to use this recovered silicon to make higher-grade silicon and refine silver, with that refining step targeted for 2030. If it works at scale, the idea is that old, retired solar panels could become a real source of raw material for new panels and other products, cutting down on waste and the need to mine new silicon and silver. For now, this is a manufacturing and recycling development, not something that changes costs or options for homeowners with solar panels today.