“Concrete proof:” SunDrive marks major milestone on path to bring low-cost solar cells to market

Australian solar innovator SunDrive has passed a major milestone on the road to commercialising its homegrown copper-based PV technology, after demonstrating that more than 99 per cent of the solar cells produced at its pilot facility in Sydney can meet and beat commercial standards.

In a post on LinkedIn on Tuesday, SunDrive said it had hit a copper plating production yield of more than 99% at its pilot plant in Sydney, with those cells being turned into modules.

“What started as a lab concept has now reached production yields exceeding 99% – a testament to our team’s hard work and dedication,” the post says.

The “huge milestone” is not just a company goal – it checks off one of the key criteria of the $11 million federal government grant awarded to SunDrive late last year by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena).

SunDrive, spun out of the University of New South Wales and backed by high profile investors including Mike Cannon-Brookes, is developing a technology that uses copper for PV cell metallisation, instead of silver.

This novel approach aims to further cut the costs of making solar panels, given that copper is around one hundred times cheaper and one thousand times more abundant than silver. The company says it could deliver an installed cost of solar that is 20-30% cheaper than other high-efficiency cells.

Last week’s milestone, achieved at SunDrive’s R&D facility in the Sydney suburb of Kurnell, is an important step forward – not least of all because it demonstrates to Arena that the company is on the right track.

Last month, Arena came under fire from Liberal National Party senator Ross Cadell for granting “taxpayer dollars … to shell companies for rent seekers,” in comments that also took a swipe at SunDrive.

“When there’s taxpayers’ dollars going to shell companies for rent seekers …who can’t even afford to build the shed that you say will be world’s best practice… this comes to the incompetence of execution of this government,” Cadell said at a typically fiery session of Senate Estimates.

But as Cadell and other senior members of the federal Coalition opposition should know only too well from their many years in government, Arena funding hinges on strict conditions.

“We have specific milestones that have performance metrics attached to them, and they’re really the key metrics that lead you towards commercialisation of your technology,” SunDrive CEO Natalie Malligan told Renew Economy on Wednesday.

“And so last week, we had a really important one, which was around basically showing the commercial operation of our pilot line. And there were several metrics attached to that, all of which we exceeded, or by far exceeded. But the most exciting, I think, is the yield.

“Being able to prove a yield above 99% on a pilot line, it’s higher than most commercial scale production tools. So it really shows proof that our technology will work at mass scale, and it has a clear path to being commercialised, which is really exciting.”

Ticking off an Arena funding milestone is also important because the federal renewables agency is also in charge of deciding which company’s and projects will get a share of the first $550 million from the federal Labor’s $1 billion Solar Sunshot program, a key plank of the Albanese government’s Future Made in Australia policy.

SunDrive has applied for a share in the Sunshot funding in partnership with Chinese PV giant Trina Solar. The two companies want to set up a module manufacturing plant in Western Sydney, with an initial production capacity of 1.2 gigawatts (GW).

The idea is to use Trina’s existing technology – it’s solar cells – to prove that solar module manufacturing can be achieved at scale on Australian soil. And then, once SunDrive’s solar cell manufacturing is up to speed, to swap them them into the module production process.

“It’s quite a complicated plan, but basically is we start with modules, using Trina’s existing silver TopCon technology …And then as SunDrive’s technology reaches commercial scale, we will be integrating ourselves into those modules.

For solar cell manufacturing, SunDrive in March signed a memorandum of understanding with Australia’s biggest coal generator AGL Energy to develop a facility at the site of AGL’s former Liddell coal power precinct in the New South Wales Hunter Region.

The MoU was announced from Liddell alongside the unveiling of the Albanese government’s Solar Sunshot program, which has pledged a total of $1 billion in funding to support the establishment of a solar supply chain in Australia, including through production subsidies and grants.

“We’re midway through [the Solar SunShot grant application] process… and I think [last week’s milestone] is just really concrete proof of everything that we’re proposing … makes sense,” Malligan says.

“Because we really do have world-leading technology and Trina is obviously a world leading manufacturer, and so I think it really just shows some very strong proof points of how real what we’re proposing is.”

To this end, SunDrive is also busy setting up partnerships with local manufacturers of the range of components it will need to make solar modules in Australia. Just this week it has entered into a MoU with Capral Aluminium – the nation’s largest manufacturer and distributor of aluminium products.

By sourcing aluminium locally from Capral, SunDrive aims to increase the stability and reliability of its production processes, mitigating risks associated with global supply chain disruptions.

“Obviously, the government’s vision and our vision is to build a fully integrated onshore supply chain, and you need to start by building the demand,” Malligan tells Renew Economy.

“So start by making the modules onshore and and building up that that scale of demand, which then means that you can invest in all the components onshore as well.

“So companies like Capral can have that certainty of demand to invest in their scale, which drives down their costs as well. So yeah, it really just takes the first step, and then it becomes much easier to onshore upstream, which is exciting.

“I think the Australian government has shown incredible vision and commitment to doing what it takes to build energy sovereignty and security,” Malligan adds.

“At the moment, you see many markets around the world seeking this same vision. And I think the solar SunShot program is a fantastic first step to that commitment.

“Developing module manufacturing, first, and then making additional investments upstream is what it will take – and it’s all of these different Australian companies coming together… and playing to their strengths.

“Technology is Australia’s strength in solar through the UNSW and other amazing institutions, so it’s continuing to invest in companies like SunDrive who are developing that world-leading technology, and then it’s also supporting Australian manufacturers of components who can also de-risk that supply chain and bring environmental benefits by bringing everything locally.”