Biosphere Solar

Biosphere Solar is a Dutch startup founded with the mission to revolutionize the solar energy industry by developing the world's first open-source, fair, and truly circular solar panel. Their innovative solar panels are designed to be demountable and repairable, allowing for a material loop in the solar panel system, a significant departure from conventional solar panels that are glued together and unrecyclable.

Biosphere Solar's solar panels feature a modular design with a back glass, front glass, and solar cells sandwiched in between, held together with an edge seal that can be opened. This unique construction enables easy disassembly, repair, and refurbishment of the panels, extending their lifespan beyond the typical 20-year lifecycle of traditional solar panels. The company aims to make solar energy more sustainable by eliminating waste and enabling high-quality recycling at the end of a panel's life.

In addition to their circular design, Biosphere Solar's panels are engineered to promote biodiversity. They can be installed on both ground and rooftop mounting systems, allowing for the integration of vegetation beneath the panels. This approach aligns with the company's commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible energy production.

Biosphere Solar follows an open-source model, sharing their technology and documentation openly online to encourage collaboration and rapid innovation within the solar industry. Their Creative Commons licensing system protects their intellectual property while enabling others to contribute to and build upon their work, fostering a global community dedicated to advancing fair and sustainable solar energy solutions.

As of September 2022, Biosphere Solar was in the design and development phase, collaborating with partner companies to establish a production line for their circular solar panels. The company aimed to have a fully certified and fair-trade product within five years, with plans to license their production globally and expand their focus to other aspects of the solar energy system, such as circular battery solutions.