ANYMO – a new way of analyzing polymers in PV modules
ANYMO is a pre-seed spin-off from the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg (HI ERN) at Forschungszentrum Jülich. The project has developed a non-invasive, portable solution to identify the composition of polymer materials—such as backsheets and encapsulants—in photovoltaic (PV) modules directly in the field. The core technology combines Near-Infrared Reflectance Absorbance (NIRA) with a handheld sensor and machine learning models trained on a comprehensive dataset collected at HI ERN. This enables fast, on-site material identification without destructive sampling or the need for laboratory analysis. In collaboration with Solar TAP, and with partners LayTec and Spectral Engines, the system is currently being refined for real-world applications. A pilot product is available upon request. Full product release is planned for the end of 2025. ANYMO supports: Material verification Quality control End-of-life PV recycling The goal is to enhance the sustainability and data-driven operation of the photovoltaic industry by enabling immediate insights into polymer composition across the module life cycle. Read the full article on pv magazine: “Pocket-sized tool to identify composition of solar panel polymer backsheets, encapsulants”