Solar Panel Recycling Market Size, Share, Trends, Industry Analysis Report: By Type, Process, Shelf Life (Normal Loss and Early Loss), and Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) – Market Forecast, 2025–2034

The solar panel recycling market size is expected to reach USD 675.33 million by 2034, according to a new study by Polaris Market Research. The report “Solar Panel Recycling Market Size, Share, Trends, Industry Analysis Report: By Type, Process, Shelf Life (Normal Loss and Early Loss), and Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) – Market Forecast, 2025–2034” gives a detailed insight into current market dynamics and provides analysis on future market growth.

Solar panel recycling is the process of recovering valuable materials such as silicon, glass, and metals from old or damaged solar panels to reduce waste and reuse resources.

Solar panels are made of valuable materials, including silicon, silver, and aluminum. These materials can be costly and energy-intensive to mine, so recycling solar panels allows for the recovery of these resources, reducing the need for new raw materials. Reclaiming and reusing valuable components helps lower production costs for new solar panels and promotes the circular economy, where materials are reused rather than wasted. This resource recovery aspect makes solar panel recycling an environmentally responsible choice and an economically beneficial one, thereby driving the solar panel recycling market growth.

The solar panel recycling industry has seen significant improvements in technology, making the recycling process more efficient and cost-effective. New methods have been developed to separate materials such as glass, metals, and silicon more easily, which increases the amount of materials that can be reused and reduces the overall cost of recycling. These technological advancements make the recycling process more accessible for companies and encourage investments in recycling infrastructure. Additionally, improving technology has made the recycling process more efficient, further driving the solar panel recycling market demand.

Solar Panel Recycling Market Report Highlights

Based on process, the mechanical segment dominated the solar panel recycling market share in 2024 due to its low cost and simplicity.

The silicon segment, by type, is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period, as solar panels with crystalline silicon make up most of the market.

In 2024, North America dominated the solar panel recycling market revenue share, driven by the increasing adoption of solar energy and growing environmental awareness.

Asia Pacific is expected to record a significant market share during the forecast period due to government initiatives and policies to promote the adoption of renewable energy sources.

A few global key market players are First Solar, Echo Environmental, Silcontel, Canadian Solar, Silrec, SunPower, Reiling GmbH & Co. KG, Trina Solar, Aurubis, Envaris, SiC Processing GmbH, Yingli Energy, and Hanwha Group.

Polaris Market Research has segmented the solar panel recycling market report on the basis of type, process, shelf life, and region:

By Type (Revenue – USD Million, 2020–2034)

§ Silicon

§ Monocrystalline

§ Polycrystalline

§ Thin-Film

By Process (Revenue – USD Million, 2020–2034)

§ Thermal

§ Mechanical

§ Laser

By Shelf-Life (Revenue – USD Million, 2020–2034)

§ Normal Loss

§ Early Loss

By Regional Outlook (Revenue – USD Million, 2020–2034)

North America

• US
• Canada

• Germany
• UK
• France
• Italy
• Spain
• Russia
• Netherlands
• Rest of Europe

• China
• India
• Japan
• South Korea
• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Australia
• Rest of Asia Pacific

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Mexico
• Rest of Latin America

• UAE
• Saudi Arabia
• Israel
• South Africa
• Rest of Middle East & Africa