French researchers recover more than 98% of the silver in old solar cells without using nitric acid
The two-step method strips away other metals in under 10 minutes and leaves the silver behind, avoiding the polluting byproducts of conventional recycling.
Researchers at France's Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) have developed a recycling process that recovers more than 98% of the silver in end-of-life solar cells without nitric acid, Brian Publicover reported Friday in pv magazine.
The method first dissolves aluminum, copper, lead and zinc in a solution of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide at 80 degrees Celsius, a step that takes less than 10 minutes. The silver stays behind inside a protective silver chloride shell that limits losses to 1.7%. A density-based separation then removes the silicon, leaving a silver composite that is 97.2% pure.
Silver makes up only 0.1% to 0.5% of solar panel waste by weight but about 60% of a module's economic value, according to earlier research the team cited, making its recovery central to profitable recycling.
Most current methods dissolve silver in nitric acid, which releases nitrogen oxides and produces nitrate-rich wastewater. Because the new process leaves the silver undissolved, the leaching solution can be reused over several cycles. The team has tested it in a 20-liter pilot reactor, though the composite still needs further refining to become metallic silver.
The work, published in the journal Hydrometallurgy, was funded through the European Union's EVERPV project, which the CEA coordinates.
This brief is based on an article published Oct. 16, 2026, by Brian Publicover in pv magazine. Read the original: https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/10/16/nitric-acid-free-process-recovers-more-than-98-of-silver-from-pv-waste/
This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by an editor before publication.
