India’s solar waste boom could be worth Rs 3,700 Cr. 2 recycling stocks to watch

India's fast-growing solar buildout is creating a future waste stream that could underpin a sizeable recycling industry.

Key points

• CEEW estimates that the cumulative waste from India's existing and new solar capacity deployed between FY24 and FY30 could be regarding 600 kilotonnes by 2030.
• The Waste Wave Is Coming, But Not All at Once.
• Nevertheless, the investment opportunity needs to be divided into three distinct layers: direct solar-panel recycling.
• The opportunity is not limited to glass and silicon.

Notably, the near-term scale is already becoming visible. CEEW estimates that the cumulative waste from India's existing and new solar capacity deployed between FY24 and FY30 could be regarding 600 kilotonnes by 2030. While another 260 kilotonnes could come from capacity continued during this decade, of this, waste from India's existing installed solar capacity alone is estimated at 340 kilotonnes.

Nevertheless, the investment opportunity needs to be divided into three distinct layers: direct solar-panel recycling. It involves collecting and processing end-of-life photovoltaic (PV) modules; indirect solar exposure, which involves recovering materials such as copper and aluminium employed throughout solar and renewable-energy infrastructure; and adjacent energy-storage recycling, which involves recovering materials from lithium-ion batteries employed in electric vehicles and solar-plus-storage or grid-scale energy-storage systems. These markets are related but have different feedstocks, economics and maturity levels.

For the listed recyclers that will be discussed in this article, Jain Resource Recycling and Gravita India, the second and third opportunities are already more visible through their existing or commissioned businesses. Direct solar-panel recycling, nevertheless, remains a developing opportunity. The Waste Wave Is Coming, But Not All at Once.

Notably, the opportunity is not limited to glass and silicon. A typical crystalline-silicon solar module contains regarding 8% aluminium and 1% copper by weight, making both metals notable recovery streams as panels reach the end of their useful lives.

Taken together, the developments around india's solar waste boom could be worth Rs 3, 700 Cr. 2 recycling point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.