China, Australia bask in solar panel success

Dorothy Zhou, director at Chinese PV company Sunpro Asia, told China Daily that the Australian market offers significant investment opportunities with its various sectors like agriculture and resources suitable for energy projects.

"The energy transition for this market provides investment stability with clear demand, providing an upward trajectory," she said.

Zhu Sha, executive secretary-general of the Jiangsu Energy Storage Industry Association, told China Daily that Chinese companies are well-prepared to cater to overseas market demand, backed by advanced technologies, complete industrial chains and low-cost manufacturing advantages.

Their pace of going global is accelerating and the way they expand overseas is also evolving, said Zhu, who led a delegation to the Australian conference. The association, based in the East China province, promotes green energy transition with its more than 1,000 member units, using expertise in fields such as research and manufacturing as well as green finance.

"China's new energy industry is now shifting from products and trade-driven expansion to one-stop service and systems solution exports," Zhu said, adding that companies are also actively exploring markets in Southeast Asia, Africa and South America.

The Australian market remains attractive because it can help open up broader areas of development, she said.

"With Australia as a base, companies can also extend their industrial chains, or further expand into the European and US markets," Zhu said.

The next stage of development for Chinese energy storage products in Australia will focus on commercial and industrial use, grid-scale capabilities, and data center solutions, altogether presenting "both an opportunity and a challenge for Chinese companies", she added.

Australia-China research and development collaboration is already extending beyond its PV partnerships to other growth opportunities such as green hydrogen, fertilizer and steel.

"There are a lot of areas we can work on, to keep building on the momentum," Thomas Gao, senior manager at the Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer, New South Wales, told China Daily.

"Many people play very important parts at different levels, taking us to where we are today. It's a continual journey," said Gao, whose organization helps bring academia, government and industry to drive the commercialization of research.

To that effect, a UNSW booth at the Sydney conference showcased the latest developments in the field that also continued its rich Australia-China partnership.

Professor Thorsten Trupke, a colleague of Ekins-Daukes at the university's photovoltaic school, explained his work on a state-of-the-art photoluminescence imaging system that inspects industrial solar panels through drones.

"We can now take these luminescence images from aerial drones on a large scale in operating solar farms," Trupke told China Daily.

Solar panels are made to last for about 30 years without any major degradation, but they can sometimes encounter problems, as with any mass-manufactured product, he said.

"We can detect those panels, and then necessary rectification can be done," said Trupke, adding that Chinese companies support the project by providing specialized samples for testing.

"The best drones in the world are from China and the ones we use are also from there. We are configuring these drones specifically for our needs," he said.

"Our school has collaborated with China for many years … this collaboration will probably expand into the future."