The recent IEA report, along with the broader discussion on second-life photovoltaic programs, highlights an important point: not every end-of-life module should be sent directly to shredding and recycling processes. Modules with sufficient remaining output can be redeployed in productive applications. Repairable modules can be refurbished and put back into service. Reuse, when it is technically and economically justified, is a core element of a credible circular economy model.
A module placed into a second application will inevitably reach end-of-life again after another 5 to 10 years of operation. At that point, it is older, more degraded, and often deployed outside of Europe—in markets where formal collection, processing, and PV recycling infrastructure is significantly less developed than the systems currently being built across Europe.
If recycling capacity is not developed today, the industry will not be prepared when these modules return to the end-of-life waste stream.
There is a second issue that is often overlooked but critical for industrial scale-up. Recycling plants require consistent and predictable feedstock streams in order to remain technically efficient and economically viable.
Fragmenting end-of-life PV volumes across reuse, repair, and recycling—without coordinating timing and flows—can slow down the development of a mature recycling industry. Stable material supply is essential to justify investment in advanced separation systems and recovery technologies for critical raw materials.
Second-life deployment of PV modules, without a clear and credible downstream end-of-life pathway, is not true circularity. It is simply delayed waste management.
In a market where end-of-life PV volumes are expected to rise sharply between 2030 and 2040, the global value chain—especially in the United States and Europe—needs to coordinate reuse, refurbishment, and recycling strategies. Only a coordinated approach across all three pathways will maximize material recovery, strengthen the recycling industry, and ensure a truly circular photovoltaic sector.
22/06/2026
