Embracing the Solar PV Revolution
The accelerating solar PV manufacturing sector both worldwide and in Australia calls for an agile and versatile training Centre capable of dynamically evolving to meet and adapt to industry needs. The training will be delivered in a series of modules that can, in time, build up to a formal qualification. Uniquely, the courses will provide hands-on practical work enabling students to take wafers through to finished modules. Their learning will be supported using computer simulation and formal tuition. The training will draw from both the research excellence in Australia in solar PV. Since it will take a decade to establish the PV supply chain in Australia, the international partners have been selected to provide advance experience for the students ahead of the manufacturing in Australia.
Training Centre Node Directors
Prof. Ned Ekins-Daukes, UNSW Sydney
Ned’s research aims to fundamentally increase the efficiency of photovoltaic solar cells towards the ultimate efficiency limit for solar power conversion of 93%. He joined UNSW in 2017 and previously worked for ten years at Imperial College London as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Reader in Physics. He has taught courses at all levels in physics and semiconductor devices. From 2011-2016 he served as Director of the Doctoral Training Centre for Sustainable Energy Futures at Imperial College London where he was responsible for delivering training to over 200 graduate students in the field of energy.
Prior to that he worked at the School of Physics at the University of Sydney and was a JSPS research fellow at the Toyota Technological Institute, Japan. Ned holds a PhD and Masters degree from Imperial College London and an undergraduate degree in Physics & Electronics from the University of St Andrews, Scotland.
A/Prof. Rebecca Yang, RMIT
A/Prof Rebecca Yang is a scholar of renewable energy, building and construction. She leads a Solar Energy Application Lab at RMIT University focusing on renewable energy transitions in buildings, industries, communities, and urban scales. She is a board member of the Australian PV Institute, the chair of the Asia Pacific Solar Research Conference 2023, and the head of Australian Building Integrated PV Alliance. Rebecca is the Australian lead and expert in the International Energy Agency (IEA) collaborative programs in Building Integrated PV and Solar energy buildings. Nominated by Standards Australia, she is also an Australian National Mirror Committee member for International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) TC 82 Solar photovoltaic energy systems, especially working on the international standard development in the ISO/IEC Joint Working Group 11 on Building Integrated PV.
Prof. Daniel MacDonald, ANU
Since completing his PhD at ANU in 2001, Professor Macdonald has worked as a Research Scientist at the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), and at the ANU where he has held three Australian Research Council funded fellowships (Postdoctoral fellowship 2003-06, QEII fellowship 2007-11 and Future fellowship 2012-15).
Professor Macdonald researches crystalline silicon solar cells, in particular the following aspects:
Partner with the Training Centre
Industrial partners are invited to join the Centre to enable us to provide traiing for staff and/or contribute to our teaching program.