SunDrive Solar
Unlocking the full potential of solar through copper innovation
At a glance
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Development stage
Prototype developed
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Investment stage
Series B
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Commercialisation pathway
Spinout - non staff led
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Technology readiness level
TRL 7
SunDrive is scaling next-generation solar manufacturing by replacing costly silver with abundant copper.
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SunDrive has the solution: Copper. A metal more than 100x cheaper per kilogram and 1000x more abundant. SunDrive's world-record copper plating technology is proven at scale. Its world-first fully automated silicon heterojunction direct copper plating pilot line achieves production yields above 99%. With copper modules demonstrating higher efficiency and durability, and global equipment partnerships underway, SunDrive is industrialising next-generation solar manufacturing at scale – for both terrestrial and space applications.
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Scaling solar has a bottleneck: silver. It is the largest material cost in cell production, accounting for over 50% of the wafer-to-cell conversion cost. Solar already consumes 30% of global industrial silver supply, exposing manufacturers to price volatility, supply risk and margin pressure.
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- Global solar cell and module manufacturers seeking cheaper, higher efficiency production.
- High-performance terrestrial and space customers needing durable, scalable, silver-free solar.
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- World-record 25.54% efficiency (2021), now >26.6%
- Production yields >99% on world-first automated silicon heterojunction direct-copper plating pilot line
- Backed by ARENA and Australia’s leading deep-tech VCs, including Blackbird, Main Sequence, Virescent Ventures and Grok Ventures.
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