What are solar panels made of?
Solar panels take 8 things directly, among them solar cell, glass, plastic, copper, solder and copper wire. Trace them back and you pass 37 made things on the way to 21 raw materials.
How solar panels are made See it on the map
What goes straight in
From the ground: 21 raw materials
- Silica sand through silicone
- Limestone through glass
- Natural gas through plastic
- Copper ore through copper
- Water through silicone
- Air through copper
- Crude oil through aluminum
- Coal through aluminum
- Quartz through solar cell, silicon wafer
- Silver ore through solder, silver
- Lead ore through solder, silver
- Zinc ore through solder, silver
- Rock salt through glass, soda ash
- Trona through glass, soda ash
- Sulfur through copper, sulfuric acid
- Tin ore through solder, tin
- Bauxite through aluminum, alumina
- Timber through silicone, metallurgical silicon
- Corn through glass, soda ash, carbon dioxide
- Sugarcane through glass, soda ash, carbon dioxide, baker's yeast, molasses
- Sugar beet through glass, soda ash, carbon dioxide, baker's yeast, molasses
Made along the way: 29 things
Metals 6
Chemicals and fuels 17
Soda ashNaphthaEthylenePropyleneOxygen gasSulfuric acidPetroleum cokeMethanolHydrochloric acidArgonQuicklimeAmmoniaCarbon dioxideHydrogenCaustic sodaCharcoalChlorine