A Swiss recycling company opened two solar furnaces on Friday in La Chaux-de-Fonds to melt steel waste from watchmakers and medical device producers using concentrated sunlight. Panatere aims to transform production scraps into ingots through green energy, but will recirculate the material to regional manufacturers via short supply chains. The company plans to operate a full-scale factory by 2028 in either the current location or the Wallis mountains after completing tests with local businesses.
Chief Executive Raphael Broye said the technology could process 1,000 tonnes of recycled steel annually through furnaces reaching temperatures near 2,000 degrees Celsius. The prototype features a 140-square-meter heliostat with movable mirrors, and a 10-meter dish focuses solar rays onto a crucible for metal melting. Rising metal prices have created economic viability for the project despite Swiss labor costs. The system faced challenges from wind interference, Saharan dust, and extreme temperature fluctuations between minus 20 and 30 degrees Celsius.
Chief Executive Raphael Broye said the technology could process 1,000 tonnes of recycled steel annually through furnaces reaching temperatures near 2,000 degrees Celsius. The prototype features a 140-square-meter heliostat with movable mirrors, and a 10-meter dish focuses solar rays onto a crucible for metal melting. Rising metal prices have created economic viability for the project despite Swiss labor costs. The system faced challenges from wind interference, Saharan dust, and extreme temperature fluctuations between minus 20 and 30 degrees Celsius.
