Skip to content
Accessibility
et（https://www.kik.ee/et/uudised/eestis-hakatakse-tootlema-vanu-paikesepaneele）
en（https://www.kik.ee/en/news/old-solar-panels-be-processed-estonia）
Old Solar Panels to Be Processed in Estonia
07. May 2026
Funding decision
Image: Unsplash
The Environmental Investment Centre (KIK) supported three waste recovery and recycling projects with more than €2 million in funding. AS Epler & Lorenz will acquire a battery and accumulator waste sorting line as well as a solar panel treatment unit in Tartu. Metsahake OÜ will install an innovative wood waste sorting line in the Vinni industrial park.
Ivo Jaanisoo , Deputy Secretary General for Living Environment and Circular Economy at the Ministry of Climate, said that affordable renewable energy solutions are becoming increasingly widespread, but as the number of solar panels continues to grow, attention must also be paid to what happens to these devices at the end of their service life.
“It is encouraging that companies in Estonia are offering solutions for this. Soon we will be able to prepare solar panels for recycling here in Estonia, creating significantly more added value than simply exporting the waste. In addition, the need to extract new natural resources will decrease, as critical materials that have already been used can be reused in new products,” said Jaanisoo.
AS Epler & Lorenz received €197,975 in support to establish a battery sorting line in Tartu, enabling more efficient and higher-quality sorting of batteries collected in Estonia. Type-based sorting directs batteries and accumulator waste to appropriate treatment processes, improving the recovery rate of valuable metals while reducing landfilling and unnecessary transportation. The new sorting line will have a capacity of up to 600 tonnes per year.
The company also received €439,299 in support to establish a recycling f acility for end-of-life solar panels. The project will create the capacity to separate and direct up to 1,600 tonnes per year of glass, aluminium, copper and silicon-based fine fractions from solar panels for further recycling.
Janis Lorenz , Member of the Management Board of Epler & Lorenz AS, highlighted that although increasing amounts of battery and accumulator waste are being collected in Estonia, further processing is hindered by a lack of technological capability. The same bottleneck also affects solar panel waste, as Estonia currently lacks the infrastructure needed for high-quality sorting and material separation.
“Today, most battery and accumulator waste, except lead-acid batteries, is sent unsorted to other European Union countries. This results in higher logistics costs and an additional environmental impact,” explained Lorenz. According to him, the new battery sorting line will create long-awaited technological capacity in Estonia, make waste management more cost-effective and help keep valuable raw materials in circulation.