PARTNERING WITH INDUSTRY

PHOTOVOLTAIC AND RENEWABLE ENERGY ENGINEERING

INNOVATING IN EDUCATION

UNSW ENGINEERING

WELCOME FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Welcome to the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering. Our research and education programs aim to transition our energy systems towards clean renewable and efficient use of energy. Globally there is rapid growth occurring in the renewable energy sector – primarily photovoltaics and wind – as they are now the lowest cost of all technologies to generate electricity. Combined with efficient use of energy, energy storage and electrification of the transport sector – there is an energy revolution underway.   

Graduates from our undergraduate and postgraduate coursework programs and our research degrees are at the forefront of this transition to a renewable energy future. Our vision is for our School to continue to carry out world-class research and teaching in renewable energy to accelerate this transition.

We are very proud of the impact that our alumni and research have had, especially the dramatic growth of the global photovoltaic industry. If you are interested in teaching programs or engaging with us in research, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Professor Alistair SproulHead of SchoolSchool of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy EngineeringUNSW Sydney

The School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering (SPREE) is a leading provider of world class education and research; specialising in education for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. The School also continues to produce internationally acclaimed research, working closely with industry to provide innovative solutions to the sector.

WHAT WE DO

Our research has produced world record solar cells for a range of materials and technologies

– including silicon, perovskite, CZTS and concentrating photovoltaics

Our mission is to carry out world class research and education to accelerate the transition to a renewable energy future

The PERC solar cell design developed at UNSW in the 1980s and 1990s is utilised in over 50%

of the global production of PV

Our academics are world experts in their fields and internationally

respected and recognised

The School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering was formed in response to

the booming renewable energy industry

We place strong importance on the translation of research into practice

>50%

Professor Thorsten Trupke is the co-inventor of the photoluminescence (PL) imaging method for bricks, wafers, cells, and modules and is also one of the co-founders of BT Imaging. UNSW has a broad range of research capabilities in the area of PL, ranging from line scanning, lifetime techniques for silicon bricks, lifetime imaging for as-cut wafers and contactless series resistance imaging of cells. Various spectral PL and EL measurement systems and unique measurement capabilities, such as a new PL inspection system for PV modules, are also available.

ADVANCED PHOTOVOLTAIC CONCEPTSWe use novel approaches with an aim to overcome the Shockley-Queisser (SQ) single bandgap efficiency limit which is the theoretical maximum efficiency of a solar cell.

Since 1974 UNSW is the world leader in photovoltaic research, holding the world record for the highest efficiency silicon solar cell for more than three decades.

RENEWABLE ENERGY INTEGRATION, POLICY AND MARKETSWe conduct interdisciplinary research on sustainable energy transitions, including modelling the technical and economic value and impacts of variable renewable energy, storage, demand response and distributed energy technologies in electricity markets and networks.

Integrating PV systems into building façades and systems has several challenges from shading to aesthetics, to maintenance and reliability, to thermal management. We investigate the use of Building integrated PV (BIPV) products as a low-carbon, retrofit solution for addressing thermally-stressed, high-rise commercial office building facades and aim to develop cutting edge BIPV facade solutions for the major urban climates of Australia (temperate and sub-tropical).

ADVANCED METROLOGY

INDUSTRIAL SILICON SOLAR CELLS

BUILDING INTEGRATED PV

COMMERCIAL TOOL DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENTWe work closely with numerous equipment manufacturers in designing and developing tools for the large-scale manufacturing of various novel UNSW technologies. These include specialised tools for light-induced plating, bifacial cell plating, rear etching, laser-doping, advanced hydrogenation, adhesion testing, and solving of light induced degradation (LID) for silicon solar cells.

RESEARCH STRENGTHS

A RESEARCH POWERHOUSE

THIN FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGIESThin film technologies have a high potential to achieve efficiencies above 20% and are suitable for integration in silicon-based tandem solar cells aiming at efficiencies well above 30%.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTSEach year our academics and research centres work with businesses, government and community organisations on specific projects, transferring our research into practice. We are making an impact that matters with the following research:

ADVANCED HYDROGENATION1 Electricity generation and distribution is changing from a centralised to a decentralised model. There is significant potential for distributed energy such as rooftop solar PV and batteries in Australia, but there has thus far been a lack of good quality information to make decisions about these investments, which impacts the cost, reliability and sustainability of our electricity industry.

The SunSPoT Tool was developed at SPREE for the Australian PV Institute (APVI), using weather data and GIS models to calculate generation from individual PV systems on rooftops, accounting for available area, tilt, orientation, shading and different configurations. It has also been used to assess the best opportunities for PV in a region and the potential impact on network load profiles.

SOLAR POTENTIAL ANALYSIS2In 2018, the Advanced Hydrogenation team commenced work on the newly-awarded ARENA R&D grants (total grant value of $7.1 million). While the team has previously solved degradation in p-type mono-crystalline silicon solar cells, these new projects have made significant headway in solving the newly discovered degradation in multi-crystalline as well as n-type silicon solar cells, which affects 60% of solar cells in the global market.

The team is now able to reduce the typical degradation of multi-crystalline solar cells from 16% down to 2%. The significance of the work has been recognised by the world’s leading PV manufacturers whose cells are suffering from this degradation. The team is now working on developing commercially applicable processes and high-throughput commercial tools.

STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITIESSPREE is very well equipped for world-leading research ranging from blue-sky to applied research at the pilot scale level. The laboratories at the Tyree Energy Technology Building (TETB) are equipped with a wide range of deposition, etching, structuring, simulation, and metrology tools which allows for a wide range of photovoltaic and renewable energy research. Our Solar Industrial Research Facility (SIRF) houses a flexible R&D enabled pilot line for crystalline silicon solar cells and modules with a particular focus on equipment using UNSW-developed technology.

OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS• Suntech

• China Sunergy

• Canadian Solar

• Jinko

• Dr Solar

• Longi

• SAS Sunrise

• LG Electronics

• CEC Energy

• Phono Solar

• Tongwei

• Nanjing Sunport

• Adani

• Meyer Burger

• Schmid

• Asia Neo Tech

• DR Laser

• Folungwin

• Solar Analytics

• CSR

• BlueScope

• AECOM

• AEMO

• BoM

• CSIRO

• IMC

• Rehabit

• Infigen

• Epuron

• SAPN

• Ergon Energy

• City of Sydney

• City of Randwick

• WattWatchers

• Solar Citizens

• Climate Media Centre

• IT Power Australia

• GSES

• Solcast

• NSW Government

• ACT government

CREATING LEADERS & INNOVATORSOver the last five years, SPREE has seen a strong increase in the total number of students. This is primarily due to the dramatic uptake by both undergraduate and masters coursework students, which has been driven by the increasing number of jobs requiring solar and renewable energy expertise. This demand for engineers, both in Australia and internationally, means that many of our students are being recruited well before they finish their studies. As our electricity and energy systems move towards 100% renewable energy – our alumni are increasingly at the forefront of this exciting transition.

COURSESUndergraduate

• Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Photovoltaics and Solar Energy SOLAAH

• Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Renewable Energy SOLABH

Post Graduate

• Master of Engineering Science (Photovoltaics and Solar Energy) SOLACS

• Master of Engineering Science (Renewable Energy) SOLADS

• Graduate Diploma of Engineering Science (Photovoltaics and Solar Energy) SOLAES

• Graduate Diploma of Engineering Science (Renewable Energy) SOLAFS

Postgraduate research degrees

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

• Masters of Philosophy by Research (MPhil)

CUSTOMISED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS We bring together the brightest minds in research and industry to create bespoke development programs that are tailored to your goals.

“There is always a new and exciting project underway in the construction industry! As an environmental designer you see a project through from concept design to completion, and as a valued part of the team you contribute to improving and optimising the overall design and operation of a building.”

Kalai Valliappan Environmental Design Consultant, Lendlease

OUR ALUMNI

“The renewable energy industry is an exciting and diverse area to work. The breadth of specialisations at UNSW and deep industry connections helped me develop the skills needed to accelerate Australia’s transition to renewable energy.”

Oscar WilkieBusiness Development Associate, Tesla

CRICOS Provider Code 00098G

GET IN TOUCHResearch Partnership Enquiries:

eng.photovoltaic.enquiries@unsw.edu.au

Future Student Enquiries

Ask a question unsw.edu.au/askCall 1300 UNI NSW (1300 864 679)Visit engineering.unsw.edu.au