The RoHS Compliance Tests at Our Company

20-01-2020

Given the growth of digitalization, electronics, IoT – the production of electrical and electronic equipment can cause severe damage to our environment. The RoHS directive is meant to protect the planet by reducing the use of hazardous chemicals, and therefore, the harmful impact of e-waste. The global problem of increasing tech waste cannot be underestimated, and these types of initiatives are essential.

What is RoHS?

RoHS stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances, short for “Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment” introduced by the European Union. The first directive took effect on July 1, 2006, and it restricted the use of six hazardous materials. Since then, four additional substances have been added to the list, and more restrictions will be most likely adopted in the next years.

Products brought to EU market from July 22, 2019, have to meet the following requirements (certain exemptions apply):

Cadmium (Cd) < 100 ppm (parts per million)
Lead (Pb) < 1000 ppm
Mercury (Hg) < 1000 ppm
Hexavalent chromium: (Cr VI) < 1000 ppm
Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) < 1000 ppm
Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) < 1000 ppm
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) < 1000 ppm
Benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) < 1000 ppm
Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) < 1000 ppm
Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) < 1000 ppm

Our Approach

At Saule Technologies, we are dedicated to the development of green and sustainable solutions. Although we are not directly affected by RoHS, we pay close attention to its guidelines during the entire product development process. Recently, we have carried out a RoHS compatibility test on the architecture of the first module that we will launch this year. The results, determined by high-precision analytic tools and certified by an external laboratory, are excellent. The total concentration of restricted materials is close to 3 orders of magnitude below the permissible levels.

Solar module compliant with the RoHS directive

Being environmental-friendly is fundamental to our company’s mission and culture. We’ll continue to run more tests as needed, and commit to manufacturing products that we can 100% stand behind.

Image credit: Ivan Bandura, Unsplash