TIANJIN, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Commanding a prime location of Tongzhou district, home to Beijing's administrative center, a newly upgraded bus stop is stealing the spotlight. It's not just for its sleek and colorful design, but for what powers it.

By day, the bus shelter basks in the sunlight; by night, it transforms into a canvas of urban glow, all powered by discarded solar panels -- now reborn as shimmering city portals.

The pilot project, a collaboration between Beijing's public transport group and tech firm Colorfulead Power (Beijing) Technology, showcases China's latest push to tackle a looming environmental challenge -- what to do with millions of aging solar panels.

As the world's largest photovoltaic power producer, China accounts for nearly half of the global solar capacity, making a significant contribution to its ambitious carbon goals.

However, data from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association indicates that China is poised to face a wave of decommissioned panels starting from 2025, with approximately 20 million tonnes expected by 2040.

A report from the International Renewable Energy Agency highlights that recycling or repurposing solar panels at the end of their roughly 30-year lifetime can unlock an estimated stock of 78 million tonnes of raw materials and other valuable components globally by 2050.

Now, the recycling of those solar panels is emerging as a new step to spur a fledgling sector in China and enhance the sustainability of the nation's eco-friendly growth.

Colorfulead Power's full-color photoelectric material is created through innovative engineering that processes various types of photovoltaic components into colorful photoelectric functional materials.

These materials, mounted on advertising boards and illuminated by LED wall-washing lights on the top, can display high-definition color poster patterns.

They can harvest solar power during the day for use by electronic display screens and for lighting at night, said Liu Dawei, a senior engineer at Colorfulead Power.

Equipped with a 5-kilowatt-hour energy storage facility, the system can reduce carbon emissions by approximately 2,180 kilograms per year.

This recycled product has also been installed on the construction barriers of an ongoing subway project in Beijing. It not only provides lighting for the surrounding roads but also serves as a public art piece adorning the city.

Colorfulead Power is now controlled by China Resources Recycling Group, a newly established state-owned enterprise that serves as a national platform specializing in resource recycling and reuse.

On Monday, Colorfulead Power's production line was completed in Shenzhen, a southern Chinese industrial hub, with a capacity to produce 500,000 square meters of full-color photoelectric functional materials per year.

Most solar panels are not broken but have declined power-generation efficiency, said Liu Zhigang, Colorfulead Power's general manager. "Direct scrapping and dismantling of them is a waste of resources."

"This production line tackles the photovoltaic industry's growth-recycling paradox, transforming industrial waste into resources," said Xu Jianzhi, chief scientist of the Beijing tech firm. Enditem