Recycling the Green Tech Sector
Even green technology must go circular—clean in life, clean in legacy.
Project Overview:
As the green technology sector scales up to decarbonize the global economy, it must also address its own environmental footprint across the full lifecycle of products. “Recycling the Green Tech Sector” is a strategic initiative to embed circularity into clean technologies—ensuring that today’s solutions do not become tomorrow’s problems.
This project aims to close material loops for high-impact components like batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles, while creating the systems, infrastructure, and incentives needed to support a regenerative clean tech economy.
Project Goals:
– Create closed-loop systems for clean tech products
Design and implement circular material flows for energy and mobility technologies—including collection, sorting, recycling, and reintegration into new production.
– Build capacity for disassembly, recovery, and second-life reuse
Invest in technologies and facilities that enable safe, cost-effective extraction of valuable materials, and promote second-life applications for batteries, EV components, and more.
– Avoid the linear legacy of the fossil era
Ensure the green sector learns from the past by avoiding extractive, single-use systems and building an economy that is circular by design.
Flagship Initiatives:
Green Tech End-of-Life Program
A portfolio of R&D and pilot projects focused on recovering critical materials—including lithium, cobalt, rare earths, glass, aluminum, copper, and steel—from:
– Batteries (EV, grid-scale): cell recovery, materials separation, second-life repurposing
– Solar Panels: PV modules, inverters, aluminum frames, glass recovery
– Wind Turbines: composite blades, steel towers, permanent magnets
– Electric Vehicles: motors, electronics, chassis materials, and thermal systems
Circular Supply Standards Initiative
A cross-sector effort to define the standards, policies, and incentives needed for a truly circular clean tech economy. Includes:
– Certification systems for recyclability and material recovery
– Policy recommendations for extended producer responsibility (EPR)
– Economic instruments to promote circular design and investment in end-of-life solution
