Glass and glazing system supplier Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG) Group announced it has completed a demonstration experiment producing float-glass from recycled solar panels
Cover glass from solar panels was separated and extracted at Tokuyama’s recycling center in Hokkaido, Japan, and NSG Group then conducted a manufacturing trial using the recovered glass in a raw material mix at its float furnace in Chiba, Japan. The trial assessed product quality and the impact on the manufacturing process. NRG says the results confirmed that the recycled material can be incorporated under defined conditions, demonstrating the feasibility of horizontal recycling into float-glass.
These efforts support the “Vision 2025 for Achieving Carbon Neutrality in the Glass Industry by 2050” announced by the Flat Glass Manufacturers Association of Japan last December, which aims to build a waste glass recycling system.
NSG Group operates multiple glass production facilities in the United States, including a float line in Rossford, Ohio. The line at Pilkington North America, a member of NSG Group, supplies glass to First Solar, a solar panel manufacturer operating in nearby Perrysburg, Ohio.
