BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with five other government departments, on Tuesday released guidelines to promote comprehensive recycling and reuse of end-of-life photovoltaic (PV) modules, aiming to build system-level capacity to cope with an expected wave of large-scale retirements.

China will further raise the level of green manufacturing for PV modules, increase the use of recycled materials, and improve scrap assessment standards and testing and inspection methods, according to the guidelines, which set a target for the cumulative comprehensive utilization of retired PV modules to reach 250,000 tonnes by 2027.

The guidelines urge breakthroughs in key technologies such as surface-structure dismantling, high-efficiency separation of laminated parts, and component extraction, and call for broader application of recycled PV-derived products in sectors including metal smelting, equipment manufacturing and building materials.

Efforts will be made to develop a set of technical standards for the green design and comprehensive utilization of PV modules, and foster a group of leading backbone enterprises engaged in the comprehensive utilization of end-of-life PV modules.

By 2030, the guidelines target further upgrades of recycling technology and equipment, stronger industrial innovation, and expanded application scenarios for recycled products, with a more tightly coordinated upstream-downstream supply chain and a rationally distributed capacity layout capable of meeting large-scale retirements.