On September 10, 2025, the international magazine Recycling Inside published the article “Solar Panel Recycling: Stokkermill Technology Turns Aluminum into Furnace-Ready Value,” dedicated to Stokkermill Recycling Machinery's solutions for recycling photovoltaic panels. The article highlights the reliability, efficiency, and above all, the quality of the recovered materials, which allow Stokkermill plants to stand out globally.
👉 Read the full article on Recycling Inside.
Stokkermill plants use a mechanical, modular, and automated process, without the need for manual disassembly or chemical/thermal treatments. This guarantees over 99% recovery by weight of the materials contained in photovoltaic modules, with energy consumption of less than 1 kWh per panel.
Here are the main materials recovered:
🔹 Furnace-ready aluminum
• This accounts for approximately 10–15% of the panel's weight.
• It is recovered in the form of proler (uniform pieces measuring 40 to 80 mm), free of contaminants.
• It is immediately ready to be sent to smelting furnaces, with a higher market value and reduced logistics costs.
🔹 Glass
• It accounts for approximately 65–70% of the total weight.
• Thanks to crushing and grain size selection, clean and homogeneous glass is obtained.
• It can be reused in the flat glass industry, in ceramics, and even as a flux in steelmaking.
🔹 Copper and non-ferrous metals
• Although only 1–1.5% of the total weight, they have a high value.
• Recovered in pure form using eddy current separators and electroselection, they can be immediately reused by the metallurgical and electronics industries.
🔹 Silicon
• Present in about 3–5% of the panel, often enriched with traces of silver.
• Recovered in the form of fine powders and flakes, with high purity.
• Increasingly in demand in the chemical, electronic, and metallurgical sectors, it is a strategic material for the circular economy.
🔹 Plastics and EVA
• Among the light fractions recovered, EVA and back-sheets have a high calorific value, making them suitable for energy recovery or as alternative fuels.
• 24/7 reliability: designed for continuous operation with minimal maintenance.
• Scalability: from compact lines to industrial plants with a capacity of 1,500–4,000 kg/h.
• Quality of recovered materials: fractions ready for industrial use, without further treatment.
• Environmental sustainability: up to 95% reduction in energy consumption compared to the primary production of aluminum and virgin materials.
The Recycling Inside article confirms Stokkermill's leadership in the solar panel recycling sector: not only reliability and efficiency, but above all the ability to return high-quality materials that can be immediately valued on the market.
