As India’s solar energy capacity continues to soar, a new environmental challenge is quietly emerging, what to do with aging and discarded solar panels. Tackling this problem head-on is Beyond Renewables & Recycling, a young climate-tech startup working to make solar energy truly sustainable by closing the loop on waste.
The Founders Behind the Vision
Founded in 2024 by Manhar Dixit and Vedant Taneja, Beyond Renewables is building solutions for solar-panel recycling and resource recovery. Both founders, driven by India’s clean energy mission, saw a growing gap in the country’s renewable landscape, the lack of a formal, efficient system to process end-of-life photovoltaic (PV) modules.
Momentum Fuels the Mission
In October 2025, the company raised ₹5 crore in pre-seed funding, its first external investment round. The round was led by U.S.-based Momentum Capital, with participation from Venture Catalysts, IIMA Ventures, Oorjan Cleantech, and Gautam Das (founder of Oorjan).
The funding will help Beyond Renewables expand its research, strengthen waste collection networks, and scale its operations, steps crucial for India’s growing renewable waste challenge.
A New Way to Look at Solar Waste
India’s renewable transition has brought an unintended consequence, the steady rise of solar waste. With millions of panels installed each year, the country faces an inevitable wave of expired modules over the next decade. Much of this waste is currently handled by the informal sector, which lacks the tools and infrastructure for safe recycling.
By focusing on efficient and safe resource recovery, Beyond Renewables aims to build a cleaner, more circular approach to solar manufacturing and disposal.
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Engineering a Smarter Recycling Process
Beyond Renewables has developed its own proprietary recycling process, one that the company reports has shown encouraging results at the lab scale. This process focuses on recovering valuable materials like aluminum, glass, copper, silicon, and silver, reducing the need for virgin mining and cutting down hazardous waste.
While the company’s recovery results have not yet been independently certified, its technology has been validated in laboratory settings and is being scaled up in collaboration with clean-tech experts and incubators such as IIT Mandi Catalyst and NSRCEL.
Building a Sustainable Supply Chain
Beyond Renewables is also building partnerships with solar developers, EPC contractors, and manufacturers to source end-of-life panels. Its goal is to create a formalized network that diverts used modules from landfills or informal scrap yards toward responsible recycling.
According to company disclosures, discussions with potential material buyers are already underway to ensure that the recovered glass, metals, and silicon find their way back into industrial supply chains.
From Concept to Industrial Scale
Following extensive research and pilot validation, Beyond Renewables is now working toward commissioning its first large-scale recycling facility in Rajasthan. This plant will focus on processing discarded solar panels at scale, turning what was once waste into reusable industrial material.
This step marks a milestone not just for the startup, but for India’s broader sustainability ecosystem, as it represents one of the first attempts to industrialize solar-panel recycling domestically.
Aligning Innovation with India’s Climate Goals
Momentum Capital’s Managing Partner, Ankur Shrivastava, said the firm backed Beyond Renewables because its work aligns with the fund’s goal of supporting startups that tackle real environmental problems through technology. He emphasized that responsible solar waste management is an urgent necessity for India’s green future.
The Road Ahead
India’s solar installations have now gone beyond 127 GW, and hence the need for a circular solar economy is very much apparent. The three-pronged method of Beyond Renewables, which includes state-of-the-art recycling and forging of relationships, might be the next standard for eco-friendly resource recovery in the clean energy sector.
If executed successfully, it may help ensure that India’s renewable boom remains truly renewable, from installation to recycling.
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