The Europe solar panel recycling market is set to witness robust growth at a CAGR of 13.70% during the forecast period to be worth USD 0.21 billion in 2030 from USD 0.11 billion in 2025.
The European solar panel recycling market is witnessing growth due to a combination of factors. Strict regulations in the European Union mandate high recycling rates for solar panels, creating strong demand in the market. The fast-growing solar power sector across Europe generates a significant volume of end-of-life panels, requiring a strong recycling infrastructure. Additionally, the focus on the circular economy in Europe, where resource efficiency and waste reduction take precedence, is well-suited for solar panel recycling.
The Europe Solar Panel Recycling Market is witnessing significant growth driven by two major factors
Increasing Solar Energy Installations: The growing number of installed solar energy systems within Europe is likely to generate growth within that sector in solar panel recycling, since the increasing number of end-of-life panels has frequently resulted in a high volume of waste that has to be recycled. The EU's accumulated market capacities for solar energy power between 2024 and 2028 exhibit a high growth rate annually. The European Union (EU) is projected to add 401 GW of new solar capacity between 2024 and 2028, doubling its installed PV capacity to 671 GW by the end of 2028, according to the Medium Scenario, from the 269 GW currently in operation.
Stringent Regulations: Strict regulations in the EU create many demands for the solar panel recycling market. For instance, the Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment requires high recycling rates among solar panels and puts the responsibility of proper collection and disposal upon manufacturers. This law ensures a fairly strict and appropriate framework that encourages the advancement and development of the recycling structure.
By type, silicon-based recycling is anticipated to grow during the forecast period.
Recycling of silicon-based solar panels in Europe is critical for the circular economy of renewable energy and demands responsible end-of-life management as the installation of solar panels increases.
The Silicon-based recycling technology innovation period could lead to the further development of even more efficient solar panel recycling at an affordable cost field in the region. The market in Germany recycles 10,000 tons of silicon annually as of 2022 data, resulting from the waste of photovoltaic solar modules, which is expected to surge to hundreds of thousands of tons by 2029.
Reiling GmbH & Co. KG developed the solution with the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon-based Photovoltaics and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in February 2022. It focuses on full industrial-scale recycling of silicon from discarded modules and reusing it for new PERC solar cells, therefore significantly lowering the amount of silicon waste in the recycling market.
Based on recycling material, glass is anticipated to increase substantially during the projected period.
The glass solar panel recycling segment in the European market is expanding fast due to increased solar energy harnessing which will lead to a large amount of waste solar panels while recycling becomes the only possible solution to manage the huge waste stream growing in the region.
Europe solar PV installations will boost the glass solar panel recycling segment by a large amount, and effective collection and logistics networks have to be established for end-of-life panels to come from diverse sources, as well as added capacity for processing facilities to deal with the problem of enormous waste and to benefit from a maximum recovery of material.
Rystad Energy stated that in 2024, solar PV energy increased to 50 TWh in Europe, the first time this milestone was reached, predominantly due to the large installations in Germany.
Germany is forecasted to hold a major market share.
Germany is one of the major European economies, witnessing a positive transition towards sustainable sources of energy production. With various directives and initiatives undertaken by the government to bolster carbon neutrality and waste reduction, the demand for solar panel recycling is set to grow initially.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the dismantling of used solar PV modules will create nearly 400,000 to 1 million tons of electrical waste in Germany alone by 2030.
The establishment of major initiatives such as WEEE (European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) has established a new framework that makes it mandatory for panel manufacturing companies to guarantee the collection & recycling of discarded end-life products.
Veolia
Envaris
Experia Solution
La Mia Energia
These companies are anticipated to dominate owing to technological innovation for efficient and cost-effective recycling, maximizing resource recovery, strong environmental performance, and building strong customer relationships.
In January 2025, SPR, a leader in the sustainable energy industry and authority on solar recycling, announced the launch of the dedicated bifacial solar panel recycling line that enables clean glass separation of bifacial modules at recovery rates of 99% or higher, achieving unprecedented efficiency.
| Report Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Market Size in 2025 | USD 0.11 billion |
| Total Market Size in 2030 | USD 0.21 billion |
| Forecast Unit | Billion |
| Growth Rate | 13.70% |
| Study Period | 2020 to 2030 |
| Historical Data | 2020 to 2023 |
| Base Year | 2024 |
| Forecast Period | 2025 – 2030 |
| Segmentation | Type, Recycling Material, Country |
| Companies |
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