"People think that mining engineers just do coal; they are much more than that and actually, in my opinion, quite essential to recycling," Lucas Bertucci tells the University of Kentucky's Center for Applied Energy Research.
That's why the chemical engineering student is among this year's recipients of the Lee T. Todd Jr.
Student Innovation Scholarship, which aims "to inspire and training the next generation of Kentucky high-tech entrepreneurs," per the Center for Applied Energy Research.
As a freshman, Bertucci studied how to recycle nickel-metal hydride batteries for electric vehicles, before moving on to his first large-scale challenge: recycling metal waste.
Now, in his senior year, Bertucci is working on optimizing solar panel recycling, his Todd Scholarship project.
"By 2030, end-of-life solar panels will be worth a combined total of $450 million in recycling potential," he says, per the Center for Applied Energy Research.
His plan is to develop "an environmentally friendly and economically sustainable process for recycling solar panels."
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