The service life of solar panels is estimated at 20-30 years, and hundreds of thousands of tons of panels are expected to be disposed of annually starting in the late 2030s. Cover glass accounts for approximately 60% of the total weight, and there are concerns about the serious environmental impact of disposing of it in landfills as industrial waste. Recycling cover glass into float glass has been challenging due to the presence of components that enhance glass transmission. With the success of this test, it is expected that float glass, which has a high production volume, will serve as a suitable outlet for the horizontal recycling of cover glass. AGC is actively working to conserve^*1 raw materials derived from natural resources, such as silica sand and soda ash, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its production processes through recycling initiatives^*2.

Notes

^*1　For every ton of recycled raw cullet used, 1.2 tons of raw materials derived from natural resources are expected to be conserved.
^*2　By replacing raw materials derived from natural resources with raw cullet, the thermal energy required for melting can be reduced, resulting in an expected reduction of 0.5 to 0.7 tons of CO₂ emissions per ton of glass from raw material sourcing to production.