Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics ranked first globally for solar research

The ranking comes as the consortium, led by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and involving the Australian National University, CSIRO, the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney, delivered on all its 2025 milestones on time and within budget.

The report notes that solar PV met more than 20% of total electricity demand in the National Electricity Market (NEM) in 2025, with Australia installing 5GW of new capacity during the year, bringing total installed capacity to more than 45GW across rooftop and utility-scale systems.

Renewable energy supplied over 40% of Australia’s electricity for the full year and over 50% across the three summer months. You can see further analysis of utility-scale and rooftop solar performance in our NEM Data Spotlight series on PV Tech Premium.

Efficiency records and research milestones across six programme areas

ACAP’s research is structured across six programme packages spanning silicon solar cells, emerging materials, tandem solar cells, device-to-module translation, manufacturing and sustainability and knowledge sharing. Each area produced notable results during 2025, the group said.

In silicon solar cells, which are the dominant commercial technology globally, a partnership between ANU and Chinese manufacturer Jinko Solar achieved TOPCon cell efficiencies above 27%, which the report describes as redefining near-term prospects for the technology.

ACAP researchers also published work on comparing surface texturing approaches for improved light absorption, credited to Professor Martin Green.

A separate collaboration between ANU and LONGi shaped industry direction for high-performance silicon wafers, while UNSW researchers developed what the report describes as a faster, cheaper and more capable approach to solar cell testing, a tool with direct implications for the speed at which new cell designs can be validated.

In perovskite cells, ACAP’s ANU team achieved a certified 26.29% efficiency for a single-junction perovskite solar cell. The University of Queensland demonstrated a 25-square-centimetre perovskite cell at 15% efficiency, an important step toward proving the technology can scale beyond small laboratory samples.

ACAP also reported progress in kesterite cells, an earth-abundant alternative to perovskite that avoids toxic lead, led by Professor Xiaojing Hao at UNSW. PV Tech Premium discussed the potential of kesterite PV with Hao last year.

The tandem cell programme delivered, as the report calls it, a global efficiency record for a triple-junction tandem cell, achieved by the University of Sydney ACAP team.

The ANU team from ACAP has reported a novel design that enhances the stability of perovskite-silicon tandem cells, a challenge that has long persisted in this field. They have also developed a large-area deposition method that is compatible with industrial manufacturing processes.

Additionally, the report highlights the establishment of Australia’s first dedicated tandem fabrication platform, which has achieved world record efficiencies.

On standards and measurement, CSIRO’s Dr Chris Fell is leading Australia’s contribution to an International Electrotechnical Commission working group developing a new global measurement standard for perovskite solar devices (IEC 60904-1-4).

The report notes that without agreed measurement protocols, performance data for perovskite cells cannot be reliably compared, constraining commercial investment.

CSIRO’s Photovoltaic Performance Laboratory, Australia’s only accredited PV test facility of its kind, is directly contributing to that international standardisation work.

The manufacturing and sustainability programme includes a feasibility study on green polysilicon production in Australia. This study examines whether the country’s domestic silica and energy resources could support a local supply of this key input for solar manufacturing.

The programme features Hello Again Solar, a spin-out company focused on commercialising solar module recycling. It also addresses the replacement of silver in solar cell contacts, as this material faces long-term supply constraints due to the global rise in solar energy deployment toward terawatt levels.

A separate initiative within the programme involves the use of daylight photoluminescence imaging as a diagnostic tool for utility-scale solar PV power plants. This technique enables the detection of degradation and defects at scale without taking plants offline.

AU$220 million funding extension to 2040

The 2025 annual report is the last to cover ACAP’s current programme phase before a substantially expanded continuation begins.

As reported by PV Tech earlier this month, ARENA committed an additional AU$95.4 million (US$66 million) to ACAP, extending the programme to 2033.

The report confirms that the total new programme of work amounts to AU$220 million, co-funded by ARENA, UNSW, partner universities, and industry, and involving more than 250 Australian researchers, extending ACAP’s research horizon to 2040.

The new programme will place greater emphasis on artificial intelligence and machine learning to accelerate materials discovery and aim to reduce electricity costs to below AU$20 per megawatt-hour.

ACAP modelling published in the report finds that ultra-low-cost solar could support 2,000GW of installed capacity in Australia, powering a fully decarbonised domestic economy while enabling large-scale production of green metals for export.