Recently, the 7th Wind and Solar Equipment Circular Utilization Industry Conference was held successfully in Beijing, China. As part of the event, the Circular Resources and Recycling Expo (CRRE) hosted a cooperation agreement signing ceremony with five companies in the industries. CRRE 2026 will be taking place from 25-27 November at Suzhou International Expo Center, China. 

The conference focuses not only on how to recycle and reuse end-of-life wind and solar equipment, but also on a bigger question: how can resource circulation move beyond single-industry disposal and instead develop into cross-industry, end-to-end coordination?

The 7th Wind and Solar Equipment Circular Utilization Industry Conference was concluded in Beijing.

Why industrial collaboration is urgent

This sense of urgency comes from one clear reality: a large wave of wind and solar retirements is approaching.

According to industry association data, China has already begun retiring large batches of photovoltaic modules in 2025, and the amount of discarded material is expected to reach 1.4 million tons by 2030. The recycled materials could be worth up to RMB 7.7 billion. Wind equipment is also entering a similar transition period.

If the industries stay trapped in low-price competition and fragmented participation, it will be hard to capture the transformation opportunities that wind and solar circularity brings.

That is why resource circulation needs industry-wide collaboration, from recycling equipment and technology, to recycled materials and products, and all the way to supply-chain coordination.

Forming a closed-loop ecosystem

During the conference, CRRE held a cooperation agreement signing ceremony with five companies, namely CRRC Corporation Limited, China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), Envivest, RNCHN, and Zhongan Eco. They will support the organization of CRRE.

These five companies also create a complete ecosystem across the wind and solar equipment value chain. It shows what happens when an entire industry chain works together.

Upstream: CRRC and CGN (the source of end-of-life wind and solar equipment)

Midstream: RNCHN (recycling) and Zhongan Eco (recycling equipment)

Downstream: Envivest and RNCHN (upcycling)

The cooperation agreement signing ceremony. 

Where the real difficulties lie

Across the wind and solar sector, and throughout the wider circular economy, two core questions need answers:

• How can we connect upstream and downstream so products are easier to recycle and can generate higher value?

• How can we bring performance, cost, compliance, traceability, and commercialization into one connected system through industry-wide coordination?

For suppliers, the main bottlenecks are often about whether the technology is mature, whether the materials stay stable, whether supply can scale up, and whether downstream users can actually accept what is produced.

For end-users, the concerns are usually about whether compliance requirements are fully met, whether costs remain under control, whether customers will truly buy, whether the supply chain can work together smoothly, and whether recovered materials can be traced properly.

As a result, suppliers often have trouble finding customers that genuinely match their needs, and end-users often struggle to locate suppliers that can meet their requirements.

Through a technology showcase platform and forward-looking forums designed to drive real connections, CRRE aims to bring together suppliers, end-users, and other stakeholders across industries.