“We can make it happen:” Trina says timing right to make solar in Australia with SunDrive

Chinese giant Trina Solar says its joint venture plans with Australian PV innovator SunDrive to establish a commercial-scale module manufacturing facility in new South Wales are making good progress, with an application for federal SunShot funding due to be submitted next week.

Trina’s head of Australia and New Zealand, Edison Zhou, says the company has been working with SunDrive on the application to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, seeking a share of the first $550 million on offer to support the establishment of a domestic solar supply chain.

The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this month to combine Trina’s heft in the global market – including its considerable experience in manufacturing – with SunDrive’s potentially game-changing technology.

Backed by some of Australia’s richest and most famous people, the Sydney-based SunDrive has been working to substitute more abundant and lower cost copper for silver in the production of solar panels.

Its work has been highlighted by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency as one of the great hopes for the goal of “ultra low cost solar” – defined by ARENA as a 30-30-30 vision representing 30 per cent solar module efficiency and an installed cost of 30 cents per watt by 2030.

SunDrive’s technology has been backed by the likes of software billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, through his private investment fund Grok Ventures, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, Canva co-founder Cameron Adams, and others.

The start-up has also signed an MoU with Australian gentailer AGL Energy to potentially build a solar manufacturing plant at the site of the shuttered Liddell coal plant in the NSW Hunter Valley.

The MoU with Trina would result in a joint venture that will be majority Australian owned, and would seek to build a facility with two lines of production, with annual capacity of 1.2 gigawatts of production and with around 300 employees. Two sites are being considered.

Speaking on the sidelines of the All Energy Australia exhibition and conference on Wednesday, Zhou said that while SunDrive was leading the Arena submission process, Trina says it has brought to the table some great opportunities from offtakes and letters of support from some of its key distributors.

“One of the things they said they were looking for in a partnership was not just capability, but trust,” Zhou told Renew Economy. “There’s a brand here that is quite well recognised by the Australian public and … that was also one of the key factors, as well, which is nice for us to hear.

“We need to find a cost effective way to do business here, so this is the right timing to submit this application,” Zhou said.

“We have 5 gigawatt (GW) production capacity in the US market and around 6 GW in Vietnam and Thailand and 1 GW in Indonesia. We also have a facility in the UAE as well, so we have a lot of experience in overseas manufacturing.

“So the SunShot program is encouraging us that maybe we can make it happen in Australia in the near future.

“Because we entered Australia… almost 15 years ago – I think we were the first Chinese panel manufacturer in Australia – we understand this market,” Zhou adds.

“And we’re growing our team here in Australia, as you can tell by the amount of people here.”