Circular Silicon

Circular Silicon specialises in the recycling of silicon metal from the solar industry. The company recycles silicon from wafer production (so-called kerf loss) and silicon from end-of-life photovoltaic (PV) panels. Their product is metallurgical silicon with a typical quality of 99%, which is sold as powders, pellets, and lumps. Silicon can be found in nearly every product in our modern world: As an alloying element in light-weight aluminum products for cars or packaging, in other metal production processes such as steel making, as a raw material for chemical products like silicones in construction, cosmetics, and electronics, or further refined to manufacture semiconductor and of course solar cells. However, silicon production is energy-intensive and uses coal as a reductant. Both lead to direct and indirect CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the current global recycling rate for silicon is close to zero. We aim to establish a circular economy and to save CO2 emissions from primary production by recycling silicon waste streams.