Won Kwang S&T has developed a mobile, on-site solar module recycling system for utility-scale PV plants. The SolreBorn unit can reportedly process up to 2.5 tonnes of modules per day and improve the economics of solar panel recycling through on-site dismantling and material recovery.
February 10, 2026
Emiliano Bellini
South Korea-based solar project developer Won Kwang S&T has developed a mobile, on-site solar panel recycling system designed to reduce transportation costs, landfill disposal, and carbon emissions associated with end-of-life photovoltaic modules.
The system, dubbed SolreBorn, is currently operating in South Korea and targets large-scale solar plants undergoing decommissioning or repowering.
“The system can recycle up to 2.5 tonnes of solar modules per day,” a company spokesperson told pv magazine. “It has a total power demand of 35 kW, approximately 17% of which is supplied by solar energy.”
According to the spokesperson, the system operates without chemical treatments and uses a partially heated, patented process to separate materials. However, the company declined to provide further technical details, citing ongoing final-stage testing.
The unit is semi-automatic, with manual input and output, and weighs approximately 13 tonnes. It is transported directly to solar sites, where panels are dismantled on location. Intermediate processed materials are then sent to local recyclers or centralized facilities for further treatment, depending on the material stream.
Won Kwang S&T says the system can recover aluminum, glass, silicon, copper, and metal powders, with reported purity levels of 100% for aluminum and glass, 98% for silicon, and 99% for certain metals, making them suitable for resale to refiners and recyclers.
The company also conducted a case study based on a hypothetical recycling scenario at a 14 MW PV plant in Nevada. It estimates that transporting approximately 70,000 solar panels to a recycling facility located 100 miles away would require 175 truckloads, cost around $43,750, and generate about 28.3 metric tons of CO₂ emissions.
By contrast, the company claims that using the SolreBorn system in the same scenario would reduce transportation needs to 27 vehicles, lowering estimated transport costs to $6,750 and emissions to 4.37 metric tons of CO₂. The reduction is attributed to on-site dismantling and volume reduction prior to off-site transport.
Won Kwang S&T has not disclosed pricing for the system or outlined plans for deployment outside South Korea.
In January, Won Kwang S&T entered a strategic collaboration with Victoria-based clean energy technology recycling solutions company Livium to create a joint venture for solar module recycling.
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