New Solar Research Laboratory Announced for Australian National University

The Australian National University will continue to be at the forefront of national and international solar research thanks to the new Australian Solar Institute (ASI) Laboratory.

The Hon Martin Ferguson, Minister for Resources, Energy and Tourism today launched the new solar laboratory. The Federal Government, through the Australian Solar Institute, provided a foundation grant of $5 million to extend the laboratories at ANU and to buy state-of–the-art process and characterisation equipment.

ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Chubb said that the new facilities will complement, and substantially extend, the current sophisticated solar research facilities at ANU.

“ANU has a proud record of innovation in sustainable energy systems and the new ASI Laboratory will add to that,” said Professor Chubb.

“The facility is unique in the southern hemisphere, providing world-class research facilities for ANU academics and other world-leading scholars, as well as industry.

“Over the next five years the labs will support an estimated $30 million worth of new research projects, and significantly enhance the 20 solar research and development contracts ANU already has with commercial and government partners.

“We thank the Minister, Martin Ferguson, for the Commonwealth’s continued commitment to solar research,” said Professor Chubb.

Professor Andrew Blakers, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems in the ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science, said the funding will make a major difference to the scale and quality of Australian solar research.

“Solar energy resources are vast and indefinitely sustainable, and the new facilities will support research programs aimed at harnessing solar energy for a sustainable future,” he said.

“The upgraded facilities include chemical waterjet and UV lasers for drilling, dicing, grooving and doping solar materials. These capabilities are unmatched elsewhere in Australia and will lead to increased investment in the University’s flagship technologies.

“The ASI funding will ensure that the ANU Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems continues its world-class research and the provision of solar energy education,” said Professor Blakers.

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Posted by Tracey A. Smith on Nov 28 2010. Filed under Australia, Solar Thermal, Solar Training and Certifications. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry