The APVI today announced that it has received funding from ARENA to examine the opportunity for Australia to establish viable, relevant, and timely local manufacturing along the solar PV supply chain in the ‘Silicon to Solar’ (S2S) study.

Australia’s potential as a renewable energy superpower is heavily reliant on the availability of solar modules, which are predominantly manufactured in China. This dependency on a single external source raises concerns about Australia’s control or influence over the solar supply chain and, therefore, its renewable energy future.

“The ‘Silicon to Solar’ project focuses on approaches that are viable, relevant, and timely to ensure we remain focused on opportunities that can meet the significant near-term demand.” Dr Oliver Hartley (Bright Dimension), S2S Project Outputs Coordinator.

The S2S project, launched today by Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen, will be completed by October 2023 and will involve:

A Market Assessment of local and global solar PV demand and manufacturing capability.

A Techno-Economic Assessment of the value chain from polysilicon, ingots, wafers, cells, module production to end-of-life treatment, to determine whether Australian manufacturing can be globally cost competitive at a scale that meets future PV demand.

A Business and Policy Assessment to provide a roadmap for establishment of a diversified PV supply chain, including local manufacturing where relevant.

A wide range of industry partners and collaborators has been engaged to ensure that the assessment is relevant and that the opportunities identified reflect the conditions necessary for businesses to establish PV manufacturing in Australia.

APVI is partnering with ACAP at UNSW as the main project partner, with further input from AGL, AspiraDAC, Siemens, Energus, SunDrive, 5B, and Tindo Solar.

“We’re excited to be working with industry partners to map out a strategy for Australia to develop local industry opportunities across the solar supply chain.” Dr Muriel Watt (APVI), S2S Project Manager.

Along with Dr Muriel Watt who will manage the S2S project for the APVI and Dr Oliver Hartley (Bright Dimension) who will coordinate the project outputs, ITP Renewables and Deloitte Financial Services will undertake the project work, in partnership with ACAP. Three Advisory Board members with extensive experience in PV manufacturing and industry development have been appointed: Mark Twidell, Mark Bonnar and David Jordan.

For more about PV Manufacturing head to the APVI website HERE.

The full Media Release can be found here