AIEN Event
Recycling Renewables:
European Best Practice for
Solar, Wind and Batteries
Webinar
3:30 – 5:30pm AEST
Monday 30 June 2025
TICKETS
AIEN Members: $77 inc GST
Non Member $110 inc GST
The renewable energy sector has and is continuing to make an important and expanding contribution to the energy mix in Australia and internationally. The clean, green image enjoyed by the industry is also enormously important, given it can only expand when the broader public’s faith in that image is maintained.
However, the renewable energy sector does generate wastes given the limited life span of its important foundational technologies: solar panels (25 to 30 years), wind turbines (20 to 30 years) and batteries (5 to 15 years). It is therefore important for the life cycle of their componentry to be considered when contemplating future designs or addressing the wastes to be generated when existing equipment reaches its end of life.
As is the case in most industries, the renewable energy sector has been primarily focussed upon roll-out of the technologies and has been somewhat slower in consideration of issues such as resource availability, resource management and resource sustainability for the longer term. That said, important initiatives in renewable energy sector component recycling are being increasingly scrutinised in relation to all three of these foundational clean energy technologies.
The AIEN is pleased to present a short series of two webinars in relation to the challenges, opportunities and current endeavours in relation to solar panel recycling, wind turbine recycling and large-scale battery recycling. The first seminar to be held on 30 June 2025 will focus on current European best practice as an example of leading international thought. The second seminar (proposed for late 2025) will focus on the Australian context and the recycling technologies that have been, or are likely to be, adopted here.
If you are passionate about shaping the future of renewable energy in Australia, committed to best-practice resource management, or eager to minimise carbon footprint through sustainable energy solutions, this webinar series is tailor-made for you.
PRELIMINARY WEBINAR PROGRAM
Colin Barker, Chair – Australian Industrial Ecology Network
Jan Jap Folmer, Director – Uppact
Dirk Jan Hummel, Project Director – Offshore Wind Innovation Centre
Mirjam Theelen, Senior Scientist Solar Energy – TNO
Janet Kes, Theme Lead Second Use, Recycling and Materials – Battery Competence Cluster NL
Every effort has been made to present all the information contained in this website as accurately as possible. The AIEN reserves the right to change, without notice, any or all of these details.
SPEAKERS
Jan Jaap Folmer
Director - Uppact
Jan Jaap Folmer describes himself as a problem solver, optimist but above all a change-maker. Born in Friesland in the Netherlands, he grew a taste to travel the world, and it was during his time working across three different continents in oil and plastics that he truly realised the impact these industries were having on the planet. He saw firsthand how much plastic from the West was ending up in landfills and oceans in the Global South. Seeing the effect this was having not only on wildlife but also local communities, Jan Jaap decided to do something about it. He started his own company Upp! in 2017 with the goal to not only make upcycle plastics but make plastic waste a thing of the past.
Dirk Jan Hummel
Project Director - Offshore Wind Innovation Centre
In 2010, Dirk Jan Hummel co-founded the NNOW group with the mission to support companies in the Northern Netherlands that are active in or looking to enter the offshore wind sector. NNOW fosters collaboration between businesses, knowledge institutions, and governments, establishing it as a key partner by major European wind clusters. In 2019, this led to the launch of the Offshore Wind Innovation Centre, which, among other goals, works on creating a sustainable approach to decommission offshore wind farms through a coalition of companies, knowledge centres, and facilities.
Mirjam Theelen
Senior Scientist Solar Energy - TNO
Mirjam Theelen studied Chemistry at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands, earning an MSc in 2007. She obtained her PhD from Delft University of Technology in 2015, studying the reliability of CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenide) solar cells. Currently serving as a senior scientist at the TNO, Mirjam’s focus is on the long-term stability of thin film photovoltaic devices and the sustainability of photovoltaics, including development of a laser-based recycling technique. Her work is published in more than 70 articles and has been presented at many conferences.
Janet Kes
Theme Lead Second Use, Recycling and Materials - Battery Competence Cluster NL
Janet is an experienced manager with extensive experience working in the automotive recycling industry. Since 2019, she has managed the take-back system for recycling Li-ion batteries, and in 2020, she took on the role of managing quality assurance. Janet has expertise in public affairs, corporate communications, marketing, and business development and has well developed knowledge in sustainability, recycling, and the circular economy.