<p>The solar panels going up on rooftops everywhere are solving one problem, and quietly creating another.</p><p>This episode is for female founders, women in tech, and anyone building at the intersection of sustainability and deep technology.</p><p>Host Dirkjan talks with Andjela Bozinac, co-founder and CEO of Renovo Recycling. Andjela is building a modular, chemical-free system that uses Physical AI and robotics to deconstruct end-of-life solar panels and recover high-value materials like aluminum, silicon, and glass.</p><p>Andjela&#39;s path combines mechanical engineering, intellectual property thinking, and a black belt in Taekwondo. She applies the same discipline she learned on the mat to building deep tech: showing up anyway, treating failure as feedback, and designing not just for what works in the lab, but for what gets adopted in the real world.</p><p><strong>In this episode, you&#39;ll hear:</strong></p><ul><li>Why solar energy is scaling fast while quietly creating a waste problem we don&#39;t know how to handle yet</li><li>How Renovo&#39;s &quot;vending machine in reverse&quot; approach recovers materials without crushing or chemicals</li><li>Why getting technology to work is only 30% of the journey — and what the other 70% actually requires</li><li>How to sell urgency in deep tech without selling the future</li><li>Why regulation in climate tech is a market, not a barrier</li><li>Why now is the moment for women to enter AI and robotics, while the rules are still being written</li></ul><p>Andjela also shares hard-won lessons from her first startup, TreeBlock, and how shifting from building the solution to building the right path to adoption changed everything about how she runs Renovo.</p><p><strong>Chapters: </strong></p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>03:00 Andjela’s Founder Journey</p><p>06:02 Engineering Background and Its Impact on Entrepreneurship</p><p>08:40 Lessons from Previous Ventures: TreeBlock Experience</p><p>11:38 The Problem of Solar Panel Waste and Recycling Challenges</p><p>14:38 Identifying the Core Issues in Solar Panel Recycling</p><p>17:34 Innovative Solutions for Solar Panel Deconstruction</p><p>20:20 Modular Systems and Their Advantages in Recycling</p><p>21:19 Targeting Solar Installers: A Strategic Approach</p><p>23:51 Current Status and Future Plans for Renovo Recycling</p><p>24:02 The Role of AI in Physical Recycling</p><p>27:18 Preparing for the Solar Waste Surge</p><p>30:23 Fundraising in Deeptech</p><p>34:50 Convincing Stakeholders of Urgency</p><p>37:38 Regulatory Support and Compliance</p><p>39:04 Expanding Beyond Solar Panels</p><p>40:58 Practical Insights for Founders</p><p>45:30 Empowering Women in Tech</p><p>49:37 Building a Supportive Funding Ecosystem</p><p><strong>Connect with Andjela Bozinac and Renovo Recycling</strong> </p><p>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bozinac-andjela24/ </p><p>Website: https://www.renovo-recycling.it/ </p><p>Renovo on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@renovosrl</p><p><strong>Check out the show notes on </strong>https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/05/28/episode-154/</p><p><strong>Women Disrupting Tech on Substack</strong></p><p>https://open.substack.com/pub/womendisruptingtech/p/episode-154?r=2v0lts&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;showWelcomeOnShare=true</p><p><strong>Enjoyed this episode?</strong> </p><p>Follow Women Disrupting Tech on Spotify so you never miss a conversation with the women and ecosystem builders shaping the next generation of technology.</p>