Silicon and Manganese Seminar

Last week, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) hosted a two-day seminar on Silicon and Manganese, bringing together experts from academia, the Norwegian metallurgical industry, and the Norwegian National Centre for Zero Waste Metal Production (FME-ZeMe). The event focused on process metallurgy for silicon and manganese, highlighting cutting-edge research from PhD and Master’s students at NTNU.

Our partner, Jonas Låstad, participated in the seminar and presented his latest progress in the APOLLO project. His research, which explores the chemical and vacuum processing of spent solar wafers, was met with strong interest, particularly regarding the project's Material Refinement and Assessment aspect.

One key takeaway was the growing attention to the chemical treatment of wafers, which has led to significant developments. In particular, the finding that NaOH can selectively etch away main surface dopants has sparked interest and will be a topic for further investigation. This insight could be crucial in refining processes for high-purity silicon recovery, supporting the circular economy in the solar industry.

Events like this seminar are vital for fostering collaboration between academia and industry and ensuring that research translates into practical innovations for sustainable metallurgy.