Joco Today

Funding comes from the Davids-supported bipartisan infrastructure law

On April 28, 2023, Representative Sharice Davids announced the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $1.3 million to the University of Kansas for the development of new technology used to recycle decaying solar panels. The project is partially funded through the bipartisan infrastructure law, which has been called the most fiscally responsible infrastructure bill in at least a decade by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Davids serves on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

“We have already seen examples of how the historic bipartisan infrastructure bill has positively affected our community, from repairing local bridges to ensuring clean drinking water for all to putting Kansans to work,” said Davids. “Thanks to this bipartisan legislation and the innovation and research that occurs at the University of Kansas, the new technologies developed will help our country get ahead of the climate crisis and lower costs on Kansas families’ utility bills.”

“Scientists at KU’s Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis have a decades-long history of pursuing research and innovation that sustain the life of our planet and its inhabitants,” said Simon Atkinson, Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Kansas. “In this case, their work in partnership with government and industry collaborators will help avert a looming global waste crisis by dramatically reducing the number of solar panels that end up in landfills. The faster, cleaner, more cost-effective process they develop has the potential to solve an industry-wide recycling challenge. We’re grateful for the federal funding that’s making this advancement possible.”

The bipartisan infrastructure law is helping foster American manufacturing of green technologies, create good-paying green jobs, and build better infrastructure that provides Americans with affordable, sustainable transportation options. In Kansas’ Third District, the bipartisan legislation has already supported projects to clean up abandoned oil wells, acquire new electric busses, and install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along Kansas roads and highways.

Davids, who is the only member of the Kansas delegation to vote for the infrastructure law, has also supported the increased use of solar energy, which lowers utility costs for Kansans and helps fight the climate crisis. She successfully secured funding for the City of Shawnee to install solar panels at two Shawnee Fire Department locations during future renovations and previously announced Kansas households can save an average of $10,600 through tax breaks and rebates for home energy upgrades.

Background:

The University of Kansas’ “Recycling of End-of-Life Solar Panels using Near-critical Fluids and Ozone” project will help more efficiently and safely recycle solar panels. To do this, several layers of sealant must normally be removed from the outside of the cell before reaching the valuable materials on the inside. Current methods to remove these layers use harsh chemical processes or mechanical crushing, which can cause significant damage or loss of these materials.

This project team is developing a new process using carbon dioxide and ozone treatment to remove these layers and separate out the valuable recyclable materials in cadmium telluride solar cells. This can help maximize the quantity and quality of the recyclable materials.

The 19 DOE-supported projects all aim to enhance domestic solar manufacturing, support the recycling of solar panels, and develop new American-made solar technologies. Additionally, this investment will help promote cheaper, more efficient solar cells and advance certain technologies used in solar manufacturing, which is vital to diversifying the solar supply chain.

Original source can be found here.