Pradeep Padhamnath

Pradeep Padhamnath, Ph.D., serves as a research assistant professor at the Department of Plastic Metal Processing and Extractive Metallurgy within the Faculty of Metals Engineering and Industrial Computer Science at AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, Poland. His primary research focus lies at the intersection of photovoltaic technology and sustainable materials recycling, specifically targeting end-of-life silicon photovoltaic panel management and high-efficiency solar cell development.

Dr. Padhamnath's research portfolio spans critical areas including photovoltaics, solar cell engineering, electronic waste recycling, metallurgy, and polymer processing. His work addresses fundamental challenges in resource efficiency and circular economy implementation for solar energy systems, with particular emphasis on industrial scalability of recycling processes and next-generation solar cell architectures. Current investigations include electrohydraulic fragmentation for component separation, polymer recovery from PV modules, and advanced passivated contact solar cell designs achieving >25% efficiency.

Analysis of his 15 most recent publications (2023-2025) reveals two dominant research thrusts: (1) Development of resource-efficient pathways for complete recyclability of crystalline silicon photovoltaic panels, covering material separation, impurity management, and polymer recovery; and (2) Innovation in high-efficiency solar cell fabrication, particularly TOPCon and PERC variants with screen-printed metallization achieving 22-25% efficiency. These efforts consistently bridge fundamental materials science with industrial manufacturing constraints.

Dr. Padhamnath contributes to the PV recycling initiative at AGH University, as evidenced by the dedicated project website http://www.plastmet.agh.edu.pl/pv_recyc-polonezbis/, which likely represents collaborative efforts in photovoltaic waste valorization and sustainable materials processing.