SOLARCYCLE Raises $30 Million for Advanced Recycling

Texas-based recycling start-up SOLARCYCLE that produces sustainable materials at scale for the solar industry, has raised $30 million in Series A funding. Now the total funding stands at $37 million since its inception a year ago.

SOLARCYCLE said that the funds, consisting of both company equity and infrastructure financing, will be used to scale its growth in solar panel recycling capacity and expand materials remanufacturing capabilities.

The round is led by asset manager Fifth Wall, and HG Ventures, which also included participation from Prologis Ventures, Urban Innovation Fund and Closed Loop Partners. The announcement follows the initial $6.6M seed round the company raised in May 2022.

Experts in panel manufacturing, advanced recycling, and climate technology founded SOLARCYCLE last year to create a more sustainable, domestic supply chain for the solar industry.

In order to meet the increasing demand for new solar panel production, SOLARCYCLE has developed proprietary technology that can cost-effectively return more than 95% of all the valuable materials, like aluminum, glass, copper, silver, and silicon, back into the solar value chain to help create a sustainable and scalable solar industry.

SOLARCYCLE said that the infrastructure financing, led by Fifth Wall Infrastructure and Special Situations Partner Alok Sindher, provides asset-level equity capital for first-of-a-kind Odessa factory of the firm.

Suvi Sharma, CEO and Co-Founder, SOLARCYCLE, said, "This Series A funding will allow us to further advance our patented technology, grow partnerships with industry leaders, and rapidly build recycling infrastructure in the United States and beyond to mine old solar panels for making new solar panels."

Recent research projects that recyclable materials from solar panels will be worth more than $2.7 billion by 2030, up from $170 million this year. SOLARCYCLE works with residential, commercial and industrial (C&I), and utility companies to recycle solar panels at scale.

SOLARCYCLE claims to be on track to install capacity to recycle one million solar panels per year by the end of 2023, and plans to open a vertically integrated, advanced recycling factory capable of processing millions of panels annually in 2024.