Solar Materials successfully closes seed round

The start-up develops methods for recycling photovoltaic modules. It has now been able to convince a well-known investor.

The Berlin-based capital company BMP Ventures AG is investing in the Braunschweig-based start-up Solar Materials with the IBG venture capital fund. Solartech is considering processes for recycling photovoltaic systems. The technology should not only be ecological, but also economical. With a patent application and the first financing, a first industrial recycling line with an annual capacity of around 4,500 tons is to be created in 2023.

The IBG funds, based in Magdeburg, are the venture capital funds of the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The investors see a long-term opportunity: in Germany alone, the volume of solar modules to be recycled is expected to grow to over 100,000 tons or 5 million modules per year by the end of the decade. That would be enough for the start-up to do. "As part of the investment, we are looking forward to a trusting collaboration that we were able to establish in advance and to an exciting growth and future mega-market with a historical connection to the state of Saxony-Anhalt," explains David Stuck, Investment Manager at BMP Ventures.

Technically, recycling is made possible by a combination of various process steps and the company's research: "The technology we have developed enables us to attack the bonding plastic layer with pinpoint accuracy. Once this is dissolved, the cover glass can be removed and we can access the printed silver tracks on the solar cells as well as the cell itself," says Technical Managing Director and co-founder Jan Bargel. "This not only recovers the energy-intensive silicon, but above all the valuable silver. This makes recycling itself economically viable," adds Fridolin Franke, Commercial Managing Director and also co-founder.