The Solar Panel Recycler With 100-Bagger Potential
A company I believe could become America’s next clean-tech powerhouse - a business that turns solar waste into silver, aluminum, and semiconductor metals, and gets paid to do it.
This is a quick note on a company I’m invested in that I believe has 100-bagger potential with limited downside. It’s about to hit commercial production in early 2026 after successfully proving its technology at pilot scale in 2025.
This isn’t theory. The tech works, the facilities work, and there’s already a backlog of material waiting to be processed.
I’m talking about Comstock Inc. ($LODE) - effectively the United States’ newest domestic silver mine, except this one is paid to take its ore.
Comstock is monetizing solar waste as a new source of aluminum, silver, and semiconductor metals through its Comstock Metals division.
The highlights:
🌞 Zero-landfill pioneer: the only company in North America (and worldwide) certified under R2v3/RIOS Responsible Recycling standard.
♻️ 100% recovery process - glass, aluminum, and semiconductor metals are all reclaimed.
⚙️ Industry-scale facilities: funds secured and first full-scale site in Silver Springs, Nevada, commissioning Q1 2026, which will recycle 3.3 million solar panels per year (~100,000 tons), technology and demo plant already in operation.
🏭 Network expansion: plans for up to 7 U.S. recycling facilities;
💰 Economics (per facility):
~$12M capex
~$55M annual revenue
~$35M cash profit (~64% margin)
📈 Growth: 2025 billings of $2.3M (vs nil in 2024) - this revenue is them taking the solar panels off the hands of US energy utilities; expected 8× revenue growth year-over-year.
🤝 Strategic partner: RWE Clean Energy MSA; > 4M lbs of solar panels received in 1H 2025.
👷 Operations: three shifts, 20 full-time employees, new storage capacity permits secured.
🌍 Market backdrop: U.S. solar waste to grow from 10M panels (today) → 33M (2030) → 300M+ (2050).
⚡ Target share: Comstock aims to handle ~⅓ of the U.S. recycling market by 2030.
Here’s a quick video showing the recycling process:
2026 Outlook
The first industrial facility should come online around Q1 2026 (let’s be conservative and say Q2). At ~$55M in annual revenue and ~$35M in cash profit per facility, even assuming delays and cost overruns, $15M in 2026 profit looks realistic.
That assumes no increase in silver prices - which, alongside gold, have both been trending higher - meaning upside is skewed in Comstock’s favor.
The capital for subsequent facilities should be fundable from internal cash flows once the first plant is online.
Remember, the silver is literally piling up outside their facilities as we speak:
The Bioleum Call Option
Separate from the Metals division, Comstock also owns ~74% of Bioleum Inc., a renewable-fuels platform that converts lignocellulosic biomass (wood waste, energy crops) into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel.
Using proprietary high-yield hydro-processing, Bioleum can produce up to 140 gallons of gasoline equivalent per ton of feedstock and 100 barrels of fuel per acre per year, far exceeding conventional biofuel yields.
I view Bioleum as a call option on a potentially massive future payoff. Execution risk is real. I’ve seen plenty of great technologies languish in my decades of investing. But Bioleum recently completed a funding round valuing the company around $700 million with investors including Marathon Petroleum.
Legacy Assets
Comstock also holds legacy mining rights and real estate in Nevada valued at roughly $100 million (book value). More details here.
Sum-of-the-Parts (SOTP)
I have assigned zero value to the IP involved with the Metals process, which is entirely owned by Comstock and could be licensed around the world with no capital outlay. Remember, the world’s first zero-waste solution for solar panels.
I’ve also incorporated further dilution and limited the upside valuation of Bioleum. Unrealistic if the tech progresses to commercialisation, but again, I’m viewing Bioleum purely as a call option on something phenomenal that may or may not eventuate.
I’ve also given the legacy assets an arbitrary 50% haircut.
Total: ≈ $1.0 billion
Current market cap: ~$164 million
Negatives
I’ve only painted the broad brushstrokes. You may object to my risk assumptions and valuations. I’ll leave you to crunch the numbers.
I don’t like that the board and management don’t have much skin in the game. The CEO last year bought a decent chunk and holds around a ~2% stake, but other than that we have a number of highly paid executives not using any of their remuneration to buy into this story. That doesn’t sit well with me, but it also isn’t a deal-breaker as the numbers above speak for themselves.
Final Thoughts
Even if you adjust the assumptions down materially, Comstock still appears undervalued by multiples. The Metals division alone, a domestic, cash-generating “urban silver mine” with expanding throughput, could justify a valuation many times the current share price.
Bioleum is the upside kicker: a potentially transformative clean-fuel platform backed by industry partnerships and a potential multi-billion-dollar valuation.
You can find the company’s latest deck here.
Also further reading and number estimates have been done by others here:
https://mikaelsyding.substack.com/p/comstock-its-a-billion-dollar-silver