Recast Materials Information

Recast Materials has developed the world's first solar panel recycling process using entirely food-grade chemistry - now the subject of a UK patent application. The opportunity: 78 million tonnes of solar panel waste by 2050. The installed PV fleet contains an estimated 23,000-33,000 tonnes of silver worth $60-86 billion at current prices. Conventional recycling processes recover the glass and aluminium but lose the silver, destroy the silicon, disperse the lead, and incinerate the polymers at 500°C. Our Kitchen Cupboard Process operates under 100°C using GRAS-classified reagents - vinegar, citric acid, hydrogen peroxide, orange oil, table salt, baking soda, dextrose, and cornstarch. No mineral acids. No pyrolysis. No HF. No specialist waste streams. Material outputs per panel: → Silver nanoparticles (5-20 nm, starch-capped): 10-50× value uplift vs commodity silver → Si/C battery anode material: ~1,087 mAh/g (2.9× graphite performance) → Recovered aluminium, copper, and intact flat glass → Lead sequestered as stable, insoluble PbSO₄ Unit economics: £64-181 recoverable value per panel against ~£6.50 processing cost. Environmental performance: 6× lower CO₂ emissions than thermal recycling (ROSI benchmark: 936 kg CO₂-eq/tonne). Near-zero Scope 1 emissions — no combustion of any kind. Process emissions reducible to near-zero with renewable electricity. The process was developed from a First-Class Biosciences dissertation at Durham University and refined through five major iterations, each step grounded in peer-reviewed research validated on production PV cells. Based in Cambridge, UK. For partnership, investment, or collaboration enquiries: contact via website.