Swiss Solar Furnaces Recycling Watchmakers’ Waste Metal

A Swiss company has launched two solar furnaces in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a historic watchmaking city. It is to recycle steel waste from the precision industry by using clean solar energy. This was developed by Panatere, which focuses on melting down offcuts from watch and medical instrument production into reusable ingots through concentrated sunlight. Later, through a short, eco-friendly supply chain, the recycled metal will be supplied back to manufacturers across the Jura region. The project denoted a milestone in green metallurgy and local circular economy efforts.

Panatere's Solar Furnaces Reach 2,000°C to Recycle Steel Waste into Sustainable Metal

According to Panatere's report, the furnaces can reach temperatures near 2,000°C, high enough to melt and purify steel scraps for industrial reuse. The system facilitates a movable mirror covered with a 140-square-metre heliostat and a 10-metre-wide solar dish, focusing sunlight onto a crucible where metals liquefy. The firm's CEO, Raphael Broye, worked on his idea for around 10 years. He denoted that this achievement depicts how solar technology extended from laboratory concepts to an industrial application.

With support from 148 scientists and engineers, this site was built. They embraced the system to handle the Jura's challenging conditions, including freezing winters and windy summers. Engineers had to address issues such as dust interference and mirror movement caused by gusts. Panatere plans to expand this pilot setup into a full-scale solar metallurgy plant by 2028. This is capable of recycling up to 1,000 tonnes of steel per year.

Broye points out that enhancing metal prices and resource scarcity create a platform for a strong economic model for solar metallurgy.