This report provides a technical overview of repair, refurbishment, and reuse strategies to extend the operational life of PV modules. Based on laboratory research, pilot projects, and field experience, it assesses the technical, economic, and regulatory conditions under which second-life PV modules can contribute to circular economy objectives.
The report shows that repair of PV modules is technically feasible for a range of defect types, but often remains labour-intensive, costly, and difficult to scale. It highlights testing- and sorting-based reuse strategies as the most robust pathway for second-life PV deployment, particularly when supported by automated testing systems. Pilot projects demonstrate that second-life PV systems – sometimes combined with second-life battery systems – can deliver benefits such as improved energy autonomy, reduced emissions, and protection against electricity price volatility. At the same time, the report underlines that economic viability and regulatory clarity remain decisive barriers to wider market uptake.
Key Findings
· The second-life PV market remains fragmented and underdeveloped. The lack of harmonized qualification criteria, standardized testing protocols, and repair guidelines significantly limits transparency, comparability, and trust in reused products.
· Repair of PV modules – whether addressing solder bond failures, cracked backsheets, or junction box issues – has been demonstrated as technically feasible. However, field experience shows that repair is often labour-intensive, costly, and difficult to scale without automation.
· Automated testing systems capable of IV characterization, electroluminescence imaging, and insulation resistance testing provide a scalable path for large-volume triage. This approach allows efficient classification into “reuse,” “repair,” or “recycle” streams, minimizing labour costs and ensuring greater consistency.
· Pilot projects confirm that second-life PV systems – sometimes combined with second-life batteries systems – can deliver tangible benefits in energy autonomy, reduced emissions, and protection against electricity price volatility.
· Economic viability is still a decisive bottleneck. Repair and reuse compete with the rapidly declining cost of new PV modules, making financial incentives or eco-contributions crucial to establish a reuse market. This underlines that regulatory clarity, funding schemes, and circular economy mandates will be central to scaling second-life PV solutions.
· Design-for-repairability and BOM transparency are emerging as critical enablers for second-life PV modules. Future standards and eco-design policies should promote component accessibility, replaceability (e.g., junction boxes/diodes), and clearer BOM documentation, which in turn will reduce triage uncertainty and improve the economic feasibility of repair and reuse.
