Circular Economy in Solar: Recycling PV Panels, Battery Repurposing & ESG

Thursday, April 09, 2026

Time
02:00 pm - 02:25 pm
Hall
Dubai World Trade Centre
Room
Conference Area

Examine how circular economy principles are reshaping solar's lifecycle. This session covers PV panel recycling, battery repurposing, and ESG-driven strategies that minimize waste, recover valuable materials, and boost sustainability. Learn how innovation and regulation are creating new business models while reducing the industry's environmental footprint.

02:00 pm - 02:05 pmWelcome and Introduction

Dr. Nabih Cherradi

Chief Technology Officer

EmpowerSun

02:05 pm - 02:25 pmState of Play: Photovoltaic Recycling at a Global Scale

Germain Castermans

Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs Manager

PV Cycle

Speakers
Speaker
Dr. Nabih Cherradi, EmpowerSun

Chief Technology Officer

UAE

Dr. Nabih Cherradi is Desert Technologies' Chief Technology Officer. Has spent over 34 years building on a long track record of equipment's/production lines as well as business development in the semiconductor and photovoltaic industries. Prior to joining Desert Technologies, Nabih is also the CEO of EmpowerSun, a Swiss based photovoltaic energy consultancy, which he founded in 2009. In the meantime, he also co-founded ISWT a French solar developer company. From 2007-2009, as a Vice President/CTO, he accompanied Yingli Green Energy in its fast expansion with responsibility for the technology and manufacturing. He also participated in its IPO in New York (NYSE). As operations & process director at Applied Materials from 1997 to 2007 Nabih was responsible for installing turn-key semiconductor and photovoltaic production lines throughout the world, installing multiple GWs of production capacity across a ten year period. As a scientist, he focused on advance materials for different applications working with different industries (Semiconductor, Photovoltaic and Hard tools) He holds a PhD on materials sciences from the University Henri Poincaré, Nancy as well as an MBA, from the Business School of Nancy, (France).

Speaker
Germain Castermans, PV Cycle

Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs Manager

Germain Castermans is a bioengineer specialised in environmental sciences, with cross-industry experience spanning pharmaceuticals, building materials, and the solar sector. He has held significant roles at GSK, where he contributed to site-level and corporate environmental management in a highly regulated pharmaceutical context, and at Etex, supporting sustainability and environmental risk management across industrial manufacturing sites and extractive activities. His work focused on translating regulatory requirements into practical operational measures, covering the full range of sustainability topics relevant to industrial operations, from environmental compliance and resource management to risk assessment, reporting, and continuous improvement.At PV CYCLE, he works on sustainability and regulatory affairs related to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for photovoltaic panels, ensuring compliance with applicable requirements. He also contributes to the development of a sustainability roadmap for the organisation, translating regulatory expectations and sustainability objectives into concrete priorities. His work supports circular economy approaches for solar panels, with a focus on end-of-life management and material recovery.

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