Brisbane-based start-up Noveco Surfaces has launched a tangible, first-of-its-kind response to the growing solar waste challenge.
Noveco’s new product, EcoSol, converts discarded solar panels into durable architectural surfaces for residential and commercial use.
While the challenge of solar waste is well established, EcoSol is among the first commercially available examples of a scalable reuse pathway.
The Australian company has partnered with Pan Pacific Recycling, Queensland’s first solar panel recycling facility, to create a dedicated waste stream for the glass recovered from decommissioned panels.
This collaboration secures reliable feedstock for EcoSol and delivers a closed-loop model for solar glass reuse - at a time when Australia is urgently seeking end-of-life strategies for its renewable infrastructure.
Glass makes up approximately 70 per cent of a panel’s weight, making it the single largest recyclable component.
Produced in Noveco’s Salisbury facility, EcoSol repurposes glass from approximately 600 solar panels per day - transforming eight tonnes of material into 30 finished benchtops daily. It delivers a rare industrial application of circular design in a manufacturing context.
Noveco Surfaces CEO, Ryan Fritsch, said the solar waste issue is on the radar for government and industry.
“Our approach is less about awareness, and more about offering a working solution that turns a growing liability into a valuable building product,” he said.
Backed by a $7.75 million NAB-led debt round and a $942,000 grant from the Federal Government’s Industry Growth Program, Noveco is engaging with commercial developers, designers and procurement leads eager to reduce embodied carbon and improve material transparency.