Renewable energy jobs at SunDrive

SunDrive’s landmark achievement is the development of commercial-size, high-efficiency silicon solar cells produced at their Sydney facility, including a 2021 milestone where they achieved one of the highest efficiencies globally for commercial-size cells (source: bloomberg.com). They reported a 26.07% efficiency for a silver-free commercial-size silicon PV cell and a 26.41% efficiency for a full-size silicon cell using heterojunction technology compatible with mass production (source: sundrivesolar.com). Their Kurnell pilot and commercialisation facility, officially opened in 2025 by the Australian Prime Minister and Minister for Climate Change and Energy, marks the transition from laboratory research to pilot production (source: sundrivesolar.com). ARENA has supported SunDrive’s path toward a 300 MW commercial-scale production tool, with modules produced at the facility undergoing in-field testing to validate early market acceptance (source: arena.gov.au). Industrial partnerships include collaborations with Suzhou Maxwell Technologies and Jiangsu Vistar Equipment Technology to advance commercialisation, as well as a memorandum of understanding with Trinasolar to establish a majority Australian-owned joint venture under the federal Solar Sunshot program (source: sundrivesolar.com, innovationaus.com). Additionally, SunDrive collaborates with Professor Anita Ho-Baillie and the University of Sydney on perovskite-silicon tandem cells, further expanding their technology portfolio (source: perovskite-info.com).

In November 2025, ARENA committed up to AU$25.3 million to support SunDrive’s scaling and commercialisation efforts for its copper metallisation technology, focusing on process development, upgraded tooling, and in-field testing as part of the next commercialization phase (source: arena.gov.au, pv-tech.org). In December 2024, SunDrive announced a production yield exceeding 99% at its Sydney commercial pilot facility, with cells being converted into modules, marking a significant proof-of-concept milestone and demonstrating progress from a 1.5 MW prototype scale toward over 100 MW per year commercial capacity (source: pv-magazine-australia.com). Earlier in October 2024, SunDrive and Trinasolar signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue a majority Australian-owned joint venture under the federal Solar Sunshot program, with the proposed manufacturing facility expected to create more than 300 skilled jobs (source: innovationaus.com). SunDrive has also received substantial government backing, including AU$11 million and AU$14 million in prior ARENA funding rounds to scale and demonstrate its copper-metallised PV cell technology (source: dcceew.gov.au, arena.gov.au).

SunDrive hires professionals primarily in advanced manufacturing, research and development, and commercialization roles, reflecting its focus on solar cell technology innovation, pilot production, and scale-up activities (source: sundrivesolar.com, arena.gov.au). The company’s collaborations with equipment suppliers, universities, and its pilot manufacturing facility suggest opportunities across engineering, materials science, process development, operations, and business development functions (source: sundrivesolar.com, perovskite-info.com). SunDrive operates from its Sydney headquarters with a physical office presence, and future growth is anticipated through its proposed local manufacturing venture, which could create over 300 skilled jobs, indicating significant expansion potential in manufacturing and operational roles (source: linkedin.com, builtin.com, innovationaus.com).