The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced up to $25.3 million in funding for Australian solar manufacturer SunDrive to help bring its copper solar cell technology closer to commercial-scale production.
The investment, provided under ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program, will support SunDrive’s collaboration with solar equipment manufacturing partners Maxwell and Vistar to scale and commercialise its copper metallisation process from its Kurnell facility in New South Wales to a 300 MW production tool, as revealed in a news release.
ARENA said the project aims to reduce the use of silver in solar cells, replacing it with copper to cut costs and boost efficiency in line with its Ultra Low-Cost Solar goal.
The funding will also enable SunDrive to upgrade its Kurnell site, build and test new tools, and produce modules for field testing and early market validation.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the agency has long supported SunDrive’s growth from a Sydney garage startup to a leader in solar innovation.
“By tackling one of the biggest cost items in solar cell manufacturing, SunDrive is demonstrating how Australian research can drive next-generation solar innovation,” Miller said.
“Not only is copper more abundant and cheaper than silver, but SunDrive’s unique manufacturing process also results in higher cell and module efficiencies which could have huge benefits for global decarbonisation efforts.”
“We’re providing a further $25 million in funding to help scale up SunDrive’s technology which could significantly help push the boundaries of efficiency and affordability and unlock the potential of ultra low-cost solar,” he added.
SunDrive CEO Natalie Malligan said the support from ARENA represents a key milestone in the company’s journey from research to large-scale manufacturing.
“It’s a strong validation of our strategy to develop world-class solar innovation here in Australia and partner with the best in the industry to industrialise it,” Malligan said. \
“It shows how Australian innovation can compete globally, and how with the right support, we can take homegrown technology to the world.”
SunDrive Co-Founder Vince Allen said the company’s partnership with Maxwell has already achieved world records in cell efficiency.
“With silver prices nearly tripling in three years and solar now using a third of global industrial silver, the industry urgently needs a silver-free alternative,” Dr Allen said. “With ARENA’s support and our partners’ expertise, this project intends to deliver a scalable mass-production solution.”
The new funding builds on ARENA’s previous $14 million investment in SunDrive’s copper metallisation technology.
To date, ARENA said it has committed over $388 million to more than 200 solar research and development projects across Australia.
