We wrote about SunDrive way back in 2021 when it created the world’s most efficient commercial-sized solar cell using copper. But a lot’s happened since. Two years ago SunDrive’s cell achieved 25.54% efficiency, but they recently announced they’d hit 26.41% efficiency for a full-size silicon cell using their copper-based technology and large-scale production processes. SunDrive’s […]
Copper Cuts Carbon Emissions in Buildings
Copper is getting a reputation as a “green” metal, but a new study is suggesting it can also help reduce carbon emissions in the construction industry. That’s big news. The building and construction sector globally accounts for roughly 40% of energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions a year, while manufacturing building materials and construction are […]
Australian Mining Upbeat Despite Global Challenges
Australian mining meets global investment, sustainability, supply chain and geopolitical issues as part of this year’s International Mining & Resources Conference—IMARC—in Sydney in November. IMARC is Australia’s largest mining event with over 7,500 decision makers, mining leaders, policy makers, investors, commodity buyers, technical experts, innovators, and educators from more than 100 countries for three days […]
Homing In On Energy
There’s been a lot happening on the home energy front recently as standards get set to rise. And that’s big news for consumers and construction professionals. For a start all Australian governments have now agreed to raise the bar on energy efficiency standards for new-build homes. It’s the first change to the National Construction Code […]
Aussie Electric Cars Start Moving
The Federal Labor Government has now introduced their electric car discount bill to parliament in a sign the country may finally be moving ahead on electric mobility. It’s a good start even if there’s still some way to go. But the stars seem to be aligning on e-mobility as governments start acting. This Federal bill […]
Cutting Greenhouse Gases
The world may be heading toward net zero at a fast pace I’m glad to say, but the fact is progress is likely to be uneven for a while yet. Despite huge efforts by government and business to usher in renewable energy and electrification, I expect inefficient legacy systems, processes and products will remain a […]
Solar Shines On “Copper Paste”
A USA startup has come up with a commercial process to swap silver paste in solar panels for copper—known as “CuBert”—with impressive results and new investors. Co-founded in 2015 by an engineering professor and a post-doctoral researcher at Kentucky’s University of Louisville, Bert Thin Films is on a mission to promote copper paste as a […]
Global “Materials Movement” Update
The second phase of Australia’s landmark Zero Emission Copper Mine of the Future Project–or ZECMotF–is rapidly developing a picture of global Materials Movement innovation. The Final Report is not due till July, but already ZECMotF is producing groundbreaking insights into new ideas, technologies and systems around the world. Like the Water and Zero Emission Copper Mining snapshot […]
Are Aussie Homes “Glorified Tents”?
Aussie homes are being called “glorified tents” costing residents hundreds more on their energy bills each year as pressure grows to build in higher efficiency standards. That chance comes this July when the country’s building ministers get together to review possible changes to the National Construction Code—NCC—which is only done once every 3 years. I […]
Clean Energy Exports Edge Closer
An ambitious $30B project to produce up to 20GW of solar energy and export it to South East Asia gets $210M boost on way to reality. The plan to build a giant solar farm in the Northern Territory is expected to cover 12,000 hectares capable of producing 17-20 GW of solar generation backed up with […]
Materials Movement Is Next Zero Emissions Priority
Hard on the heels of COP26, the UN’s Climate Change Conference that attracted global attention, we’re doing our own bit to cut emissions. We’ve just launched the third deep tech research project—Materials Movement—as part of our ongoing Zero Emissions Copper Mine of the Future initiative. Materials Movement, which will start early next year, will take […]
Low Cost Solar Gets Copper Breakthrough
Australian startup Sundrive creates world’s most efficient commercial-sized solar cell by replacing expensive silver with affordable copper during manufacturing. Efficiency is a big deal when it comes to solar and refers to the amount of power you generate based on the amount of sunlight coming in. A decade ago commercial-sized solar cells had an efficiency […]
