Solar cells that can be printed onto flexible film, similar to how newspapers are produced, could soon revolutionise renewable energy technology.

Australia is a world leader in printable solar and today a new cutting-edge facility is being opened to scale up towards industrial production and bed in our advantage.

Located at the CSIRO’s Clayton precinct in Melbourne, the purpose-built CSIRO Printed Photovoltaics Facility uses roll-to-roll printing technology to produce high quality cells at large scale.

The new $6.8 million pilot facility is being funded by Australia’s national science agency CSIRO and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) via the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP).

Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic officially opened the facility today.

Lightweight, flexible and cost-effective, printable solar cells are highly versatile compared to traditional silicon cells and are targeted towards use in construction, automative, defence and space industries.

The Printed Photovoltaics Facility creates a perfect space for CSIRO and industry to team up and experiment with the technology to come up with new ways to use it.

Printable solar technology presents a significant manufacturing opportunity for Australian industry, with estimates the global market could be worth as much as $3 billion by 2030. 

It will also help further grow the generation of renewable energy to help on the path to net zero, giving product designers a convenient, adaptable source of zero emissions power to work with.

CSIRO will continue to work with industry leaders to further develop and commercialise the technology, bringing its benefits to the market and contributing to a sustainable energy future.

For more information on the CSIRO Printed Photovoltaics Facility, go to research.csiro.au/printedpv/printed-pv-facility/.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic

“Printable solar gives us the double whammy of lower emissions and huge commercial potential.

“We’re world leaders at this know-how and thanks to our $6.8 million investment, CSIRO has a cutting-edge facility to team up with industry and develop new uses.

“Flexible, versatile, cost-effective – this is another great Australian idea that has put us on the ground floor of a new industry that could be a billion-dollar marketplace in the future.”