Latest News

Dr Maia Schweizer joins SunDrive as Chief Commercial Officer

SunDrive is pleased to announce that Dr Maia Schweizer has joined as Chief Commercial Officer. Maia brings energy sector and startup scaling experience from prior roles at McKinsey & Company, Origin Energy, Fortescue Future Industries and CleanCo Queensland where she served as the inaugural CEO. Maia trained as a geologist and astrobiologist at Princeton, Caltech and Oxford.

November 8, 2023

ABC Radio National - Australian made solar cell production

Australian solar company SunDrive is a step closer to producing ultra-low cost solar cells, after securing an $11 million grant to scale up its solar cell production to a commercial level. Guest: SunDrive's CEO & co-founder Vince Allen.

November 4, 2023

Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Climate Change and Energy officially open SunDrive Solar

Today the Prime Minister The Hon. Anthony Albanese MP and Minister for Climate Change and Energy, The Hon. Chris Bowen MP, officially opened SunDrive’s solar manufacturing pilot production and commercialisation facility in Kurnell, NSW, today.

November 1, 2023

Canva, Atlassian billionaires join Turnbull in solar hopeful

SunDrive, the start-up hoping to replace silver elements in solar cells with cheaper copper, has drawn the support of heavyweight investors as it raises $21m.

October 13, 2022

Dropping out of uni was the best thing this solar pioneer ever did

Vince Allen’s disruptive solar cell has broken world records and won investment from billionaires including Mike Cannon-Brookes. Now he’s determined to mass produce in Australia.

October 10, 2022

SunDrive achieves 26.41% efficiency with copper-based solar cell technology

Australian solar technology company SunDrive continues to impress with its copper-based solar cell technology, achieving 26.41% efficiency for a full-size silicon cell using mass-production compatible heterojunction technology.

September 5, 2022

“Huge moment:” Australia’s Sundrive claims new solar cell efficiency milestone

Australian start-up SunDrive, backed by tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, has claimed another solar cell efficiency record, reaching the milestone 26 per cent mark for a full area commercial size solar cell for the first time.

March 18, 2022

SunDrive sets 26.07% efficiency record for HJT cell in mass production setting

Australian solar technology startup SunDrive has announced “a breakthrough” in mass production compatible heterojunction technology after recording an efficiency result of 26.07% with a silver-free, commercial-size silicon solar PV cell.

March 17, 2022

Australian startup SunDrive fabricates its first full-sized panel

Sydney-based startup SunDrive has given itself an early Christmas present in the form of the fabrication of its first full-sized panel. This panel marks the most recent milestone on the road to commercialization for SunDrive, which set a new world record for commercial-sized silicon solar cell efficiency in September.

December 24, 2021

SUNDRIVE FABRICATES FIRST EVER FULL-SIZE SOLAR PANEL

South Sydney solar cell start up SunDrive Solar has successfully fabricated its first ever full size solar panels. The company took to social media to reveal the news which is a milestone in the industrialisation of its solar technology. In September SunDrive claimed a new world record, producing a solar cell with an efficiency at turning sunlight into electricity for a commercial-size silicon solar cell of 25.54 per cent. SunDrive’s new cell is produced with copper rather than expensive silver, promising future cost reductions in manufacture.

December 16, 2021

Aussie startups take the spotlight at COP26

Some of Australia’s most exciting cleantech startups were showcased on the global stage.

November 11, 2021

Smashing solar records with SunDrive’s Vince Allen

The solar pioneers have set a new efficiency benchmark with their next generation cells.

October 20, 2021

Australian technology start-up creates world's most efficient solar cell while replacing silver with copper

Solar start-up engineer Vince Allen knew he and his team had made something special in their laboratories. Now they have the certification to say they have created the most efficient commercial-sized solar cell in the world.

September 21, 2021

SunDrive snares solar record ahead of funding round

A home-grown solar start-up backed by tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes has snatched the coveted world record for solar cell efficiency in a well-timed coup ahead of its next funding round to support the scale-up of its innovative technology.

September 13, 2021

Solar Startup Born in a Garage Is Beating China to Cheaper Panels

Australia-based SunDrive has made a materials breakthrough that promises to increase the efficiency and lower the cost of solar panels. About seven years ago, Vince Allen barged into the garage he shared with some flatmates in a Sydney suburb and set about trying to shake up the solar industry. He was at the time a PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales, and he had an idea for making solar panels much cheaper: replace the expensive silver typically used to pull electricity out of the devices with plentiful, cheap copper.

September 9, 2021

Efficient, affordable solar cells born in Sydney garage

Some of Australia’s biggest renewable energy investors are backing a new high efficiency, low cost solar panel technology. The low cost of solar panels from affordable solar cells is transforming the way we generate electricity, but a Sydney startup is banking on new technology to drive prices down even further.

October 26, 2020