Staff lay-offs at solar panel developer

Grok Ventures-backed SunDrive Solar has laid off staff and announced a change of chief executive.

The Sydney-based pre-revenue company is working toward commercialisation of ultra-low-cost solar photo voltaic (PV) technology and has been slated to play a key role in the federal government’s plans to establish low-cost solar PV panel making in Australia as part of its “Made in Australia” policy.

The SunDrive technology uses copper in place of more expensive silver to cut the cost of PV panels.

In a statement to Renew Economy (reneweconomy.com.au), SunDrive confirmed it had made staff cuts but did not state a number. The cuts have been reported to be as high as 50% of employees.

Meanwhile, SunDrive co-founder and chief executive Vince Allen is to transition to the role of chief technology officer with chief operating officer Natalie Malligan becoming chief executive.

Other investors in SunDrive include Blackbird Ventures, Virescent Ventures, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and Canva co-founder Cameron Adams.

SunDrive has confirmed that a MoU with energy company AGL (ASX: AGL) to potentially develop a solar panel manufacturing facility at the site of the closed Liddell coal power generation plant in the Hunter Valley, NSW, is still on track.

“We are committed to focusing on our core strengths of improving solar technology while continuing to pursue commercial partnerships to bring these technologies to market and accelerate the path to domestic manufacturing,” SunDrive said in a statement to Renew Economy. “As part of the review, SunDrive has made the difficult decision to streamline its operations, resulting in some members of the team departing the business.

“SunDrive is supporting all affected employees through this process. This decision was not made lightly but we believe it is necessary to support SunDrive’s long-term success in continuing to deliver world-leading solar technology breakthroughs.”

SunDrive said Allen’s move to the chief technology officer role would enable him to focus on technology development. The company said Malligan had strong experience in scaling up companies including Uber.

SunDrive was set up while Allen was completing a PhD at the University of NSW which examined the use of copper instead of silver for PV cell metallisation.

 In November 2020 the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) awarded SunDrive a $3 million grant towards the production of a commercial-size PV module for use on household rooftops. A second $11 million ARENA grant was awarded in November 2023 for the company to scale up its solar cell production line to a commercial level.

Image: SunDrive co-founders David Hu and Vince Allen with a prototype PV panel.