startup

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has committed AU$25.3 million (US$16.53 million) in funding to support PV cell technology startup SunDrive Solar's continued development of copper-based solar cell technology.

SunDrive has signed a JDA with China’s Maxwell Technologies and Vistar Equipment Technology, suppliers of solar cell production equipment.

Australian startup SunDrive Solar has revealed that it has undergone a restructuring of the company, resulting in job cuts, as it looks to “sharpen focus on solar”.

Hamburg-based energy startup 1Komma5° has planned to set up a 5GW tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) module assembly plant in Germany.

French startup Heliup has secured €10 million in an investment round of financing for a 100MW lightweight module assembly line in France.

Japanese electronics company TDK Company’s subsidiary TDK Ventures has launched a US$150 million fund to invest in energy and climate technology startups.

Accelergen Energy will use the funds to develop "a multi-gigawatt pipeline of high quality solar and storage projects".

Data from Gogla showed that the global off-grid solar sector had a record investment of US$746 million in 2022, increasing by US$289 million or 63% year-on-year.