A news article by Nikkei BP was published on August 4th (Wed) at 9:46 AM regarding the Japan corporate founding with Rinovasol.
https://project.nikkeibp.co.jp/ms/atcl/19/news/00001/01924/?ST=msb
Today we announce that Rinovasol (Germany, CEO: Josef Gmeiner) and WQ (Chuo-ku , Tokyo, CEO: Koichi Nakanishi) have agreed on co-founding a solar module refurbishing business.
Solar power systems contribute to the future of energy production, and its spread is necessary for realizing a decarbonized society and supporting the fight against climate change.
Josef Gmeiner, CEO of Rinovasol, is confident that “Module demand will continue on a long span, and new solutions are necessary to avoid large amounts of waste”.
Disposal of damaged or old modules will lead to economic loss and environmental harm, which may delay the development of the solar power system market. The spread of renewable energy in Japan is remarkable, with more than 60,000 MW of capacity generated in 2019. Out of those, 15% have a defect and is necessary for exchange or disposal.
Generally, after collection, solar modules in the Japanese market are mostly disposed of. Rinovasol repairs and refurbishes collected modules, and ships again as a product. By doing so, Rinovasol can purchase the solar modules from power plant owners, who would normally have to pay for the disposal of the modules. The company has already refurbished around 2,000 solar modules in Japan.
Also, with SDGs under attention worldwide, we will aim for a sustainable society through the reduction of waste.
WQ Inc. mainly works on sales of equipments that use renewable energy and development/IPP of solar and wind power. It also handles a variety of new businesses including restaurants, villas, agriculture, and overseas sake sales businesses. Rinovasol has established an international network specializing in solar power module refurbishing and has restored/refurbished more than 1 million modules.
Company Information
Company: Rinovasol Global O and M GmbH
CEO: Josef Gmeiner
Link: https://www.rinovasol.com/
Headquarters Location: Am Forst 5 92637 Weiden
Business: No.1 Solar module refurbisher in Europe
Company: WQ Inc.
CEO: Koichi Nakanishi
Headquarters Location: Ginza Glass Gate 4th Floor, 1-19-12 Ginza Chuo, Tokyo 104-0061
Link: http://wqinc.co.jp/
Founded: May 2013
Businesses: Sales of equipments that use renewable energy and development of solar/wind power. With its corporate concept as Quest of Quality, it has expanded its businesses to restaurant, villa, agriculture, and overseas sake sales businesses.