While the recycling industry continues to debate the limits of first-generation delamination technologies, Stokkermill Solar has already moved ahead.
With over 30 operational plants worldwide and two new strategic installations launching this month in Northern Italy and Sardinia, the company is redefining Integrated Mechanical Delamination, making traditional static systems obsolete.
For years, the solar recycling market has relied on a narrow definition of delamination—thermal processes, blade-based systems, or mechanical roller technologies. All of these approaches suffer from significant operational constraints.
In particular, mechanical roller systems collide with the physical reality of glass.
Silica dust—glass’s primary component—has a Mohs hardness of 6–7, higher than that of many steels. When it infiltrates moving mechanical parts, it creates what engineers call three-body abrasion: two mechanical surfaces and abrasive glass particles in between, wearing both down simultaneously.
The result? Accelerated wear, frequent downtime, and high maintenance costs.
Stokkermill Solar has overcome these engineering limitations by developing Integrated Mechanical Delamination.
This next-generation process preserves the promise of high-purity material recovery, but achieves it through a dynamic, all-in-one system.
The technology processes entire solar panels—frames and broken glass included—without any pre-treatment, eliminating preparation costs entirely.
This is not a theoretical concept—it is a fully validated industrial process.
Today, Stokkermill Solar stands as the global benchmark in photovoltaic recycling, with a proven track record of 30+ installed and operating plants worldwide.
This widespread adoption confirms what the market has already decided:
the rigidity of traditional delamination has been replaced by the flexibility and efficiency of the Stokkermill Integrated Process.
By eliminating the frame-removal bottleneck, Stokkermill unlocks productivity levels unattainable with legacy technologies:
Real Throughput
Standard configurations—like the new installations launching in Northern Italy and Sardinia—process 3–4 tons per hour, equivalent to 150–200 solar panels per hour.
The system’s modular architecture allows capacity expansion simply by adding units to the line—no redesign of layout or pre-treatment logistics required.
Efficiency and Profitability: Where Technology Creates Value
The superiority of Integrated Mechanical Delamination is measured by the quality of its output, transforming waste into high-value commodities.
1. Furnace-Ready Aluminum: The Foundry Sweet Spot
The market value of recycled aluminum depends heavily on material density.
Whole or roughly cut aluminum frames have low density. They float in the furnace, oxidize upon air contact, and generate excessive dross—lost metal and wasted energy.
The Stokkermill advantage
Our technology produces calibrated aluminum fractions (40–70 mm) that are dense, clean, and free of fines.
This size range represents the foundry “sweet spot”:
the material sinks immediately into molten aluminum, delivering near-100% metal yield and lower energy consumption.
For recyclers, this means maximum resale value per ton.
2. The Silver Recovery Bonus
Precision mechanical processing unlocks additional value from the fine fraction.
Independent analyses on real production batches demonstrate recovery of:
4.5 kg of silver per ton
Equivalent to 0.45% silver content in silicon powder
A significant revenue stream often overlooked by conventional systems.
3. Sustainability by Design
Energy consumption: less than 1 kW per panel
Automation: fully automated line
Staffing: only two operators required (loading and supervision)
This translates into lower operating costs, reduced emissions, and higher margins.
The effectiveness of this technology is confirmed by active construction projects.
This December, Stokkermill Solar is expanding its national presence with two new strategic recycling hubs:
Northern Italy – A high-capacity facility designed for large-scale industrial waste streams
Sardinia – A critical hub for island logistics and photovoltaic waste recovery
Choosing Stokkermill Solar means partnering with the company that has rewritten the rules of photovoltaic recycling.
We took the concept of delamination, removed its historical limitations, and transformed it into a profitable, scalable, industrial-grade process.
The future is not manual frame removal.
The future is the Integrated Process.
