Congratulations to Ailar Hajimohammadi – EPA grant
Congratulations to CIES academic Dr Ailar Hajimohammadi whose work and investigations into innovative and more sustainable construction materials, as well as resource recovering strategies for a circular economy in civil and construction projects, forms part of a successful grant in partnership with PV Industries, from the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA).
Through the EPA’s Circular Solar Grants Program - Phase 2, Dr Hajimohammadi will receive $330,962 funding for her work in supporting the NSW solar recycling industry with research into solar photovoltaic (PV) glass recycling and its reuse in construction projects, as a component of innovative geopolymer concretes.
The Circular Solar Grants Program was created by the NSW government to reduce landfilling of solar panels and battery systems and help NSW transition to renewable energy sources within a circular economy. While volumes of waste solar panels and battery storage systems are currently relatively low, this emerging waste stream is expected to rapidly increase over the next decade with the increasing uptake of solar powered energy systems, and as currently installed systems reach their end of life.
Cumulative global PV waste reached 250,000 tonnes by the end of 2016, while predictions show that, with the increasing uptake of solar powered energy systems, the amount could increase to 5.5–6 million tonnes per year by 2050. EPA forecasts that NSW will generate 3,000–10,000 tonnes per year of waste solar PV panels and battery storage systems by 2025, rising to 40,000–71,000 tonnes per year by 2035.
The main component of PV waste is glass. The recycling of waste glass of solar panels, therefore, is a crucial issue.
Interest in recycling waste glass in the production of concrete has recently increased, and a significant number of research works have been published showing advantages and side effects. Waste glass is considered as a new potential supplementary cementitious material due to the glass's high amorphous silica content and excellent composition consistency.
For the Circular Solar Grants Program project, Dr Hajimohammadi’s research group at the Centre for Infrastructure and Engineering and Safety (CIES), aims to investigate and compare the possibility of using waste glass powder derived from PV modules as a partial precursor in producing geopolymer concrete. Designing and thoroughly testing a geopolymer concrete mix which incorporates recycled solar panel glass will be conducted at CIES laboratories for a period of two years.
Dr Hajimohammadi’s work is part of a larger project by industry partner PV Industries whose aim is to promote solar panel and inverter reuse, repair and refurbishment, and diversion from landfill through end-of-life processing. NSW EPA has awarded $2.37 million in funding to PV Industries who will scale-up their processing technology, establishing a high-capacity solar panel and lithium-ion battery recycling facility in NSW, capable of processing up to 8,000 tonnes per annum, and expand their metro and regional collection and logistics network.
This project builds on the PV Industries: Circular Solar Trial project in which Dr Hajimohammdi and UNSW are a partner. This project was awarded in 2021 by NSW EPA who are contributing $1 million during the project period.
Congratulations to Ailar and to PV industries.
This project is a NSW Environment Protection Authority initiative funded from the Circular Solar Phase 2 grants program’
More information about the solar program is here https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/working-together/grants/infrastructure-fund/circular-solar-trials
