SolreBorn: 이동식 태양광 패널 현장 재활용 시스템

As solar panels are being deployed worldwide, the problem of disposing of end-of-life solar panels is rapidly emerging. Previously, waste panels were transported by truck to specialized recycling plants to separate and recycle glass, aluminum, silicon, etc., but the inefficiency of this logistics stage was very high. Panels are large, heavy, and fragile, posing a risk during transportation, and if the distance from the installation site to the factory is long, excessive transportation costs worsen the economics of recycling.

As a result, some regions have seen cases of landfilling or neglecting waste panels, raising environmental concerns. The limitations of the existing method are: ① the large volume of waste panels means that transportation costs account for a significant portion of recycling costs, ② on-site dismantling is difficult, allowing only centralized processing, and ③ therefore, the recycling rate of waste panels in remote areas is low. In particular, panels dismantled from solar power plants in mountainous/island areas are difficult to transport and are often landfilled.

In short, there was a need for an efficient and distributed method of processing waste panels.

The SolreBorn system is a mobile equipment mounted on a container or trailer, and is the world's first mobile solution that allows waste solar panels to be pre-processed immediately at the dismantling site. When waste panels are put into this system on-site, it automatically crushes and separates glass, aluminum frames, cell materials, etc.

As a result, bulky waste panels are immediately converted into materials with a volume reduction of more than 80%, and only the remaining materials need to be collected and sent to a recycling plant. In other words, there is no need to transport the panels themselves over long distances, and the volume and weight are significantly reduced on-site, dramatically reducing the number of transports and costs. According to actual evaluations, the overall logistics volume is reduced by more than 80%, improving both economic feasibility and environmental friendliness.

In addition, SolreBorn has a modular mobile design, so it can be deployed anywhere, such as power plant demolition sites and waste panel accumulation sites, and it separates glass, metal, and cell fragments on-site, making waste handling safe and easy. It is completely different from the existing recycling method in that it structurally solves the transportation burden, and it is evaluated that it has achieved both increased recycling rate and cost reduction.

In conclusion, SolreBorn is differentiated as a game changer in the field of solar waste panel recycling by realizing distributed resource circulation.

Key Adopters: The main entities likely to adopt this solution are solar power plant operators, waste disposal companies, and local governments. For example, a company operating a large-scale solar power plant complex can purchase or lease SolreBorn on its own to directly process waste panels when the power plant is demolished. Alternatively, a recycling specialist can own SolreBorn equipment and provide mobile services to each site (a kind of on-site crushing service). Local governments can also use it as an eco-friendly treatment infrastructure when solar waste panels are generated in their jurisdiction, and it is especially useful for island areas or local governments in mountainous and island areas.

Therefore, both B2B and B2G forms are expected. Wonkwang S&T can target B2G supply with power generation public corporations and waste management corporations as initial customers, and then expand B2B sales to private power generation operators.

B2C/B2B/B2G classification: B2B and B2G (for corporate and public waste disposal)

Environmental/Regulatory Constraints: As waste treatment equipment, it must meet the environmental regulations and permits of each country (dust/noise standards due to crushers, etc.), but it is said to be designed to place a lower environmental burden than existing fixed plants. Although it is mobile, compliance with regulations is expected if enclosed crushing and filtering are applied in accordance with the Waste Management Act standards to ensure the safety of the treatment process.

Industrial/Market Scalability: The solar waste panel market is expected to explode in the next 10 to 20 years, so the marketability is very high. In particular, SolreBorn is more useful in countries with a lot of distributed renewable energy generation, and it is also valuable in developing countries with a lack of recycling infrastructure.

Wonkwang S&T has already declared its entry into the global market with this technology, and the CES Innovation Award is expected to accelerate the search for overseas partnerships. In addition, by applying this technology, it can be expanded to other waste resource solutions such as mobile electronic waste treatment and mobile construction waste resource treatment. However, in addition to the equipment sales model, a service-type business (Mobile recycling as a service) model should also be considered.

The policies of each country also affect market expansion, and the trend of strengthening solar panel recycling obligations in Europe and other countries creates a favorable environment for the introduction of solutions. Overall, it perfectly matches the sustainability trend, and Wonkwang S&T can expect a preemptive effect as there are still few competitors in the field.

Wonkwang S&T's SolreBorn won the CES 2026 Innovation Award and was evaluated as"An innovation that solves the shadows of the solar industry."The judges paid attention to the idea of structurally resolving the transportation burden, and praised it as a solution that increases the recycling rate and creates both environmental and economic value.

In the domestic industry, it is said that "proven leading technology in the field of waste panel recycling," and that a startup has solved a problem that the government and industry have been struggling with. In terms of technological completeness, it was the first time to be exhibited at CES, but it is known that a field-applied prototype has already been operated, so it is considered that functionality and stability have been verified. According to an actual article,"Innovation Award at the first participation"It implies that both completeness and novelty were recognized.

Market expectations are very high in line with the strengthening of environmental regulations. Experts say that "a solution that the whole world will be interested in," and there are rumors that overseas energy companies are already making inquiries about cooperation (uncertain information).

However, from a commercialization perspective,"Equipment production cost and economic feasibility"This may be the key. Each customer will consider whether the transportation costs saved by introducing this system are sufficient compared to the equipment costs, so it is necessary to achieve economies of scale and optimize business models such as leasing. However, despite these realistic considerations, there is almost no disagreement on the direction of the solution (eco-friendly and efficient), and the common opinion of the critics is that there are few factors that are undervalued.