We are excited to announce that two papers and a deliverable related to the technical parts and advances of the CIRCUSOL project have been published this last month.

The technical paper produced by IMEC “Towards a Circular Supply Chain for PV Modules: Review of Today's Challenges in PV Recycling, Refurbishment and Re-Certification” has been ranked among the top 23 highest scored for the forthcoming 36th EU PVSEC conference and the study will be presented during Session 4DO.4 on “Sustainability of PV Systems / Inverter Design and Integration”, on Thursday 12 September 2019. The full paper joined the peer-review for the prestigious high-impact scientific journal Progress in Photovoltaics. In brief, this paper presents the idea of how CIRCUSOL partners aspire to formalize the repair/refurbish and re-use value chains in the PV industry and propose a circular business model, based on a Product-Service System (PSS). Towards these goals, this review study introduces the relevant research groundwork; a status overview and today’s R&D and business challenges in PV recycling, repair/refurbishment and re-certification aspects for second-life PV modules. The topics and the relevant reported literature are examined from both circular economy and technology perspective. The review indicates a considerable technological and operational know-how in PV EoL management, that already exists and continuously evolves in mature PV markets.

The second paper, elaborated by partners at LUND , can be found in this link, and explains how the operational phase of the CIRCUSOL project will involve the development of products, processes and business models that significantly lower the negative impact on the environment, reduce waste and resource pressures and, rather, create a positive impact on society and environment. It focuses on the circular business model lens as a comprehensive way of addressing business innovation. Within this evolving circular economy operationalization phase, several tools, approaches and methods are emerging that could support circular business model innovation and seeks to create a comprehensive tool overview through a literature and practice review.

To conclude, we would like to inform that the deliverable D1.1 “European solar power eco-system state-of-the-art report, submitted for journal publication developed by BUAS will be published to specific bibliographic database. This report is focused on the photovoltaic and electric vehicle battery value chains for the development of a circular economy in the PV industry.