The Royal Academy of Engineering has announced the latest recipients of its highly competitive Research Fellowships, with Dr. Sophie Pain from the University of Warwick's School of Engineering among those honoured. Dr. Pain's groundbreaking research, titled "Achieving Sustainable Solar: Atomic Manufacturing for Recyclable Photovoltaics," focuses on improving the recyclability of solar panels—a critical issue as the world shifts towards renewable energy.

Solar power plays a vital role in meeting global energy demands while supporting net-zero carbon goals, contributing over £25 billion to the UK economy. In the UK alone, photovoltaic installations have surged over the past decade. Although solar modules are designed to last more than 25 years, a looming challenge awaits as hundreds of thousands of modules will need recycling each year by 2026. While many of the materials in solar modules, such as glass, metals, and silicon, can be recycled, the polymeric adhesives and encapsulants currently used make recovering valuable materials difficult.

Dr. Pain’s fellowship aims to address this challenge by developing alternative encapsulants for silicon photovoltaic modules. These new materials will be easier to remove than conventional polymers, enhancing the recyclability of solar panels and offering a sustainable solution to this growing waste stream.

The Royal Academy of Engineering’s Research Fellowships support innovative engineering research addressing diverse societal challenges, including early-stage cancer diagnosis, more efficient recycling, reducing energy consumption in internet infrastructure, and cost-effective drug discovery. The fellowships are designed to empower outstanding early-career researchers to become future leaders in engineering, offering up to £625,000 over five years to support fundamental research across any engineering discipline.

Dr Sophie Pains's award also comes off the back of winning two internal awards: the SEM Faculty Thesis prize for her PhD (2019-2023), and Early Career Researcher of the Year (2024).

Once again, congratulations to Dr Sophie Pain.

To read more about the fellowship and Dr Pains award, please click here.Link opens in a new window

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