Jakson Claims To Set Up India’s First Hi-Tech Solar Panel Recycling Plant

Jakson Engineers Limited, part of India’s Jakson Group, has signed an agreement with a European technology provider to establish what it said would be the country’s first hi-tech photovoltaic (PV) module recycling facility, as India begins to address the growing challenge of end-of-life solar waste.

The company said the plant will be capable of recycling around 300 megawatts of solar panels annually, equivalent to about 500,000 modules or 13,500 tonnes of material a year. The facility will recover materials such as aluminium, glass, silicon, copper and silver from discarded panels.

Pact Signed 

Jakson Engineers signed the contract with Italian technology firm Ecoprogetti SRL, the company said in a statement on Monday.

India is among the world’s fastest-growing solar markets, with installed capacity expanding rapidly over the past decade. Industry experts have warned that large volumes of solar waste will begin to emerge in the coming years as early projects reach the end of their operational life.

“This investment is aimed at ensuring that solar power becomes more resource-efficient and circular by recovering valuable materials and reducing dependence on virgin raw materials,” said Gagan Deep Chanana, joint managing director and chief executive of Jakson Engineers.

Bharat Gupta, a director at Jakson Engineers, said the facility would help divert thousands of tonnes of solar waste from landfills annually and return critical materials to the manufacturing supply chain.

Expanding Solar Footprints

The recycling initiative comes as Jakson expands its presence across the solar value chain. The group recently laid the foundation stone for the first phase of a 6-gigawatt integrated solar manufacturing facility in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, with a planned investment of more than 80 billion rupees ($960 million).

Jakson Group, founded in 1947, operates across power generation, renewable energy, energy storage and infrastructure engineering, with manufacturing facilities and offices in India and overseas.