스냅 스페이스

Solar panel waste is increasing, but the lack of recycling infrastructure in some regions raises concerns about environmental problems due to the difficulty of processing waste panels. Existing recycling processes require transporting panels to central facilities, and the complex and costly processes reduce economic feasibility. In particular, the abandonment of waste panels is a real problem in island, mountain, and developing countries.

Snap Space is a container-sized mobile recycling unit that can disassemble and recycle solar panels on-site. It separates the panel glass and automatically sorts silicon cells and metals for recovery as raw materials.

By modularizing the complex recycling process into a single mobile unit, it achieves transportation cost savings and improved accessibility. It can be used in remote areas or developing countries with underdeveloped power infrastructure, (expected effect) increasing the sustainability of solar energy and contributing to waste reduction. In addition, the company's own ultra-small AI chip (Blumind BM110) analyzes the equipment's sound and vibration data to detect abnormal operation, thereby increasing maintenance efficiency.

Government/local government environmental departments and solar power generation operators (B2G/B2B) can purchase or rent it. International organizations or NGOs may introduce it in the form of support to developing countries.

The demand exists in a niche market as the problem of solar waste panels is emerging worldwide. However, additional investment is needed to commercialize the equipment since it is in the research lab development stage.

In the future, it can be applied to other fields such as e-waste as a modular recycling platform. It is more likely to be used through overseas aid or international projects than in Korea.

The CES Innovation Award recognizes its technological and sustainability value, and the domestic media noted the award in an unexpected field. However, in terms of commercial viability, there is a strong view that it is a demonstration at the concept level rather than an overestimation due to its niche nature.

In summary, it is a representative example of being “positive based on the CES showcase, but lacking market verification.”