Femtosecond Lasers Solve Solar Panels’ Recycling Issue  Glass welding seals PV panels without requiring troublesome polymers

Femtosecond Lasers Solve Solar Panels’ Recycling Issue Glass welding seals PV panels without requiring troublesome polymers

Solar panels are built to last 25 years or more in all kinds of weather. Key to this longevity is a tight seal of the photovoltaic materials. Manufacturers achieve the seal by laminating a panel’s silicon cells with polymer sheets between glass panes. But the sticky polymer is hard to separate from the silicon cells at the end of a solar panel’s life, making recycling the materials more difficult. [Lire plus…]