From solar panel recycling to AI in net-zero building: Swinburne partners in new ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hubs

Swinburne University of Technology is among the recipients of grants worth $64 million by the Australian Research Council (ARC) for the development of two new Industrial Transformation Research Hubs.

Swinburne is collaborating with universities and industry partners around Australia to further technology driven future-focused research in industries of importance to the nation.

Photovoltaic Solar Panel Recycling and Sustainability ARC Research Hub

Led by the University of New South Wales, the Photovoltaic Solar Panel Recycling and Sustainability ARC Research Hub is focused on developing green technologies for recycling solar panels and increasing materials repurposing. This includes developing easily recyclable new panel designs that can be adopted in industry and scaled up to transform Australia’s solar panel industries and reduce the solar panel waste in landfill.

The Hub’s work directly addresses Australia's National Net-Zero Plan and Waste Action Plan, creating new panel designs, new supply chains, Australia's research and development critical mass and workforce training, new jobs and economic growth.

Swinburne’s Professor M Akbar Rhamdhani (from the Fluid and Process Dynamic (FPD) Research Group within the Department of Mechanical and Product Design Engineering ) is the Deputy Director and Key Chief Instigator of the Hub. Using his metallurgical science and engineering expertise, Professor Rhamdhani will help develop scalable, highly efficient, and environmentally friendly processes for recycling solar panels.

This work builds on previous Swinburne projects funded by the Australia Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) in using glass from solar panels as melt to absorb impurities from solar cell waste and metallurgical silicon.

“We will be adding flux to the glass-melt and carrying out multi-stage treatment to remove impurities and recover valuable elements,” he says. “The silicon recovered can be fed back for solar panel production or to the steel industry. I will also be contributing to new designs of a pyrolysis reactor for delamination and the melting of solar panels.”     

Professor Rhamdhani says he is excited to work with multi-disciplinary Australian-based international experts and teams to tackle the key issues around solar panel recycling.

“The hub will allow high throughput and the development of sustainable recycling routes for solar panels.”

 “We are training the next generation of researchers in the processing of urban resources, such as end-of-life solar panels, and will transform the solar panel recycling industries in Australia”

Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Infrastructure Net-Zero  

Led by Monash University, the ARC Research Hub for Infrastructure Net Zero will focus on integrating digital technologies - including robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) - to decarbonise large-scale infrastructure engineering and construction processes.

Challenges, like excessive carbon emissions and outdated practices, are currently impeding the nation’s sustainability. In line with Australia's 2030 Digital Economy Strategy, the Hub will utilise infrastructure digital twins, low-carbon materials, eco-friendly structural designs, and state-of-the-art operation and maintenance methods to reinvent the performance and profitability of the infrastructure industry. 

Professor Tracy’ Dong Ruan, Professor Pat Rajeev and Professor Emad Gad from Swinburne’s Department of Mechanical and Product Design Engineering, Centre of Sustainable infrastructure and Digital Construction (CSIDC), School of Engineering, are part of the team helping Australia meet its commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 and driving a data-driven sustainable industrial revolution.

Professor Pat Rajeev, Chair of the Department of Civil and Construction Engineering and Director of the Trimble Technology Lab at Swinburne, says the Swinburne team is delighted by the announcement of the hub.

“We’re aiming to transform Australia's construction sector through digitalising the infrastructure lifecycle for net-zero, targeting challenges like excessive carbon emissions and outdated practices, which currently impede sustainability.”

“This is a brilliant opportunity to further our work in sustainable construction and building practices, circularity in modular construction, AI-based supply chain optimisation and intelligent monitoring technologies.”