Solar panels: Haiki+ aims to increase recycling capacity

Haiki+ is investing in the recycling of solar panels. According to CEO Giovanni Rosti, ‘the growth of photovoltaics is ushering in a new phase for the circular economy. In the coming years, we will see a significant increase in the number of modules reaching the end of their life, and it will be essential to have an industrial supply chain capable of recovering their materials to high quality standards and reintroducing them into production cycles. Glass, aluminium, copper and silicon represent a growing supply of secondary raw materials: making the most of them means strengthening the autonomy of European supply chains, reducing dependence on imports, bolstering the competitiveness of the European manufacturing sector and making the circular economy a concrete lever of industrial policy’.

Haiki+ is a national waste management operator, and its majority shareholder, Holding SG – controlled by the Colucci family – launched a takeover bid last week for 100 per cent of the company with the aim of delisting it. At the Raee.man plant in Sale (Alessandria), alongside the production lines dedicated to alkaline and lithium batteries, the line that recovers materials from solar panels has also been fully operational since the start of the year: ‘It processes 120,000 per hour. It has a capacity of 10,000 tonnes per year operating in two shifts, and from September this will increase to three,’ says Rosti. It is based on a new, entirely mechanical technology that we have developed with the machinery manufacturer, which enables us to recover greater quantities of material: 100 per cent of the aluminium, 98 per cent of the copper and glass, and the plastic. We’re working on recovering silver from silicon dust at our plant in Pollutri (Chieti), as part of a project with the University of L’Aquila, and if all goes well, the system will be installed in Sale by the end of the year.”

Rosti confirms the demand for this type of business: ‘The end of life for the first generation of panels began some time ago, but the wave is only just coming now. Following various trials, we have developed a flagship technology and now want to roll it out to other sites across Italy. As the panels are mainly located in Central and Southern Italy, we plan to install new production lines at the plants in those regions where we already recover lead-acid batteries”. The investment falls within the figure set out in the 2026–28 plan, combining the ‘recycling & electrics’ and ‘metals’ categories: 19 million euros.