OnePlanet CEO André Pujadas on building solar recycling infrastructure in the US

André Pujadas, CEO and co-founder of OnePlanet Solar Recycling, highlights a critical gap in the US solar industry: while solar panel deployment has rapidly expanded, the infrastructure for recycling end-of-life solar panels has lagged behind. Drawing on his extensive engineering and industrial experience in steelmaking—particularly the electric arc furnace (EAF) process that revolutionized domestic steel production through scrap metal recycling—Pujadas views solar waste not as mere disposal but as valuable feedstock. He argues that establishing solar recycling infrastructure is not just an environmental necessity but a significant industrial arbitrage opportunity that can drive a new manufacturing ecosystem in the US. Pujadas emphasizes that recycling at industrial scale should be treated as manufacturing rather than waste management. He notes two common misconceptions: first, that recycling is simply cleaner waste handling, and second, that it is inherently profitable due to environmental benefits. Successful recycling requires a consistent supply of feedstock, efficient processing technology, and a market willing to pay for recovered materials.