Australian solar startup SunDrive has secured up to $16.5 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to advance its copper metallization solar cell technology from the lab to market. The funding, awarded under ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program, positions SunDrive to move beyond R&D toward commercial-scale manufacturing. The company’s aim is to replace silver with copper in solar cells, improving efficiency while cutting material costs.
Funding Details and Purpose
ARENA’s commitment will support SunDrive as it collaborates with solar equipment leaders Maxwell and Vistar to scale its process. The program targets the development of a 300 MW commercial production tool that can translate record-setting cell performance into factory-ready capability. The investment also backs extensive testing and cost modeling to validate the technology’s path to commercialization.
Technology and Partnerships
SunDrive’s direct copper plating process seeks to eliminate silver from cell metallization, addressing one of the most expensive inputs in conventional solar manufacturing. Copper’s abundance and lower price underpin the strategy to reduce panel costs while sustaining, and potentially improving, power conversion efficiency. Partnerships with Maxwell and Vistar are central to turning the company’s research breakthroughs into industrial tools that manufacturers can adopt.
Facility Upgrade and Commercial Pathway
The Kurnell facility in New South Wales will be upgraded to host development, deployment, and refinement of production tools. SunDrive will produce modules for in-field testing to gather performance data and support early market acceptance. The company expects these steps to accelerate licensing opportunities and shorten the time to scaled adoption.
Industry Context and Impact
Silver prices have climbed sharply in recent years, and the solar sector consumes a significant portion of global industrial silver demand. A viable copper-based alternative could ease supply pressure while enabling manufacturers to contain costs amid rising capacity additions. If successful, SunDrive’s approach supports ARENA’s ultra low-cost solar goal and could help drive broader decarbonization by lowering the price of clean electricity.
Leadership Perspectives
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the agency has backed SunDrive from its early days, citing the potential to push the boundaries of both efficiency and affordability. He emphasized that copper’s cost advantage, combined with SunDrive’s manufacturing method, could deliver higher cell and module efficiencies at scale. The new funding is intended to help bridge the gap between a proven laboratory concept and robust commercial deployment.
Company Momentum and Demonstrations
SunDrive reported that its first commercial demonstrator tool has been built and is undergoing customer demonstrations. These trials are designed to showcase how the copper plating process can integrate with leading equipment platforms and meet industry throughput targets. Demonstrations also provide data that buyers require before committing to new metallization lines.
Record-Setting Research Foundation
Co-founder Vince Allen noted that SunDrive and partner Maxwell have already achieved world records in cell efficiency using the copper approach. The next phase focuses on embedding that performance in production-grade tools capable of repeatable, high-yield operation. By targeting a silver-free architecture, the company aims to mitigate commodity price volatility while sustaining best-in-class cell outputs.
Track Record of Public Support
The project builds on $9.1 million in prior ARENA funding that helped prove the copper metallization concept. Across its portfolio, ARENA has provided more than $388 million to over 200 solar R&D projects, reflecting a long-standing focus on cost and efficiency. SunDrive’s new award fits within that strategy by backing technologies with clear routes to commercialization.
With fresh capital, industrial partners, and an upgraded Kurnell facility, SunDrive is moving from pioneering research toward credible manufacturing readiness. The company’s copper plating technology targets a material cost inflection while aiming to maintain or raise performance at the module level. If the scale-up proceeds as planned, SunDrive could help the solar industry reduce costs, diversify supply chains, and accelerate the path to ultra low-cost renewable power.