A $10.7 million collaborative research project  to improve the energy efficiency of photovoltaic solar cells is the subject of an agreement between between the Australian National University and Chinese solar energy company Trina Solar.

 

China’s Trina Solar, one of the world’s largest producers of solar cells, and the ANU will be working collaboratively in an attempt to minimize costs of producing and using solar cells while increasing their efficiency.

 

$3.3 million of the funding has been allocated from the Government’s $150 million Australian Solar Institute, which in turn has been funded by the $5 billion Clean Energy Initiative.

 

It is expected the project will attract millions of dollars in licensing fees for the ANU in addition to supporting high value research jobs in Australia.

 

Through increasing cell efficiency, the project aims to drive down the cost of photovoltaic modules to the point where solar electricity is competitive with other forms of stationary energy.

 

In aggregate to date the Australian Solar Institute has committed over $66 million to fund 27 solar R&D projects, with a total leveraged value of $209 million.