By Professor Fiona Charnley, Professor of circular innovation at the University of Exeter and researcher at the ReMake Value Retention Centre (RVRC).
The UK’s renewable energy transition is often judged by the number of projects delivered, yet its long term success hinges on something far less visible – whether the technologies we deploy are capable of retaining value throughout their life cycles, or whether they shed it, ultimately adding to the waste burden we are trying to reduce.
Circularity should be understood not simply as a waste management challenge, but as an industrial strategy that will shape the resilience, cost effectiveness and competitiveness of the UK’s future energy system. Many high value sectors, including the aerospace and automotive industries, already demonstrate what this looks like in practice, with circularity embedded in how products are designed, built and maintained.
Renewable energy
Renewable energy technologies, however, have yet to make this shift.
Solar power for example, is central to the UK’s net zero ambitions and its contribution to the energy mix has rapidly expanded over the past two decades, yet the end of life pathway for solar panels remains underdeveloped. Disassembly is complex, material recovery is limited, and the UK currently lacks the dedicated infrastructure needed to manage the growing volumes of panels approaching retirement.
Globally, solar photovoltaic (PV) waste could exceed 200 million tonnes by 2050 and without change, valuable materials such as silver and silicon risk being lost, shifting the environmental burden from carbon emissions to waste accumulation.
Alongside this, the UK imports most of the materials required for renewable energy technologies, creating a growing dependence on a diverse range of critical resources to support decarbonisation. This reliance exposes the sector to volatile global supply chains, only for many of these materials to eventually become waste. A circular economy approach can strengthen resilience and security by keeping these valuable resources in use for longer.
Designing better
The solution to these issues therefore begins at the design stage.
Decisions made early in product development determine whether a technology can be repaired, upgraded or remanufactured efficiently, with industries such as aerospace and construction equipment already showing what is possible by remanufacturing components through multiple life cycles.
Applying these principles to solar and other renewable technologies would result in products that are easier to maintain, simpler to recover and significantly more valuable at end of life. Beyond reducing emissions and resource extraction, remanufacturing also strengthens supply chains and creates skilled employment, opening new revenue streams for UK businesses in the energy sector.
However, no single organisation can deliver this shift to circularity alone. Many companies face economic pressures that limit their capacity for long term research and development, making collaboration essential.
Initiatives such as the ReMake Value Retention Centre (RVRC) led by the National Manufacturing institute Scotland (NMIS) brings together industry, academia and policymakers across high-integrity sectors, supporting businesses to share expertise, test new approaches and reduce the risks associated with innovation. These collaborations are critical for turning circular principles into practical, scalable solutions.
Collaboration is key
To accelerate progress, companies will need to collaborate more closely across the value chain and invest in digital tools that enhance traceability and maintenance. Developing skills, strengthening workforce training, and adopting new business models will be just as critical as developing technology. Sector stakeholders also have an essential role to play.
By setting clear expectations early and supporting circular innovation. Whether through investors encouraging manufacturers to design products for disassembly and reuse, or policymakers funding research into remanufacturing, they can help create the conditions needed for lasting change.
The circular economy is no longer a niche sustainability concept. Instead, it is a strategic approach to building the next generation of renewable infrastructure. Solar PV for example, will be indispensable for decarbonising our energy generation, but without circularity, the industry risks creating a new environmental and economic challenge.
The opportunity now is to design renewable energy technologies that are themselves renewable. We need to consider circularity to make sure those technologies last, retain value, and can be reintegrated into the system – building an energy system that is resilient, resource efficient and fit for the decades ahead.
Author biography:
Fiona Charnley is Professor of Circular Innovation and Co-Director of the Exeter Centre for the Circular Economy. She is Co-Director of the UKRI National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Hub within the University of Exeter Business School harnessing the UK’s leading research capabilities; creating new knowledge, tools, behaviours and relationships to capture economic, social and environmental value from a Circular Economy.
Charnley has published extensively within the fields of design, innovation and manufacture for a circular economy. She leads a number of government and industry funded research projects on topic including: Digital Technology and as enabler of Circular Innovation, Circular Healthcare, Circular Fashion and Textiles and Business Models for Value Retention within the High Integrity Sectors.
Charnley is Chair of the Chair of the EPSRC Manufacturing and the Circular Economy Theme Strategic Advisory Board and a Senior Associate of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
