The solar industry has been perennially faced with the shortage of silicon supply. One option it has turned to is to reclaim silicon materials sourced primarily from the semiconductor industry. It is faced with a growing demand for silicon material that is mainly required to produce photovoltaic cells for solar panels. With IBM’s new reclamation process, this option has turned more viable.

Solar cell manufacturers expect to serve as much as 30 percent to 90 percent of the energy they would have needed if they used a new silicon material source depending on how they process a batch of reclaimed wafers. The estimated energy savings will also result to the overall reduction of the carbon footprint both for semiconductors and solar industries.