新南威尔士大学与亚洲太阳能电池生产商签订协议

随着新南威尔士大学（简称UNSW，The University of New South Wales）和一些亚洲发展最快的太阳能电池生产商签订的三个新协议，其作为一个光电学技术的国际领先供应商的地位继续得到保持。

这些发展迅速的太阳能电池生产商包括Suntech Power，一家在纽约证券交易所上市的太阳能电池生产公司。此公司的执行官正是由UNSW毕业的 Zhengrong Shi.博士。

中国政府国家可再生能源媒体和长期发展计划中显示可再生能源预计到2020年将占到中国总能源供应的16%。可再生能源法于2005年2月实施以来，一场无声的较量已经在这些太阳能电池的生产厂家之间展开。谁能用最低的成本生产出最有效的太阳能电池产品谁就是赢家。这些厂家把找到世界上最好的技术作为其发展策略之一，他们和来自UNSW的ARC卓越光电学研究中心的研究员共同探讨如何能找到最好的技术。在Stuart Wenham 领导下的电光学研究中心是世界一流的电光学研究团队。

Wenham 教授说：“ARC的资金赞助以及UNSW的技术支持使我们具备了建立起世界上最好的太阳能电池研究实验室的资本。此外我相信太阳能电池研究员团队的国际化赋予了UNSW一个发展世界领先技术的大好机会。

太阳能电池将成为世界能源供给的重要组成部分。对于澳大利亚来说，继续保持在这些创新方面的领先地位有着极其重要的意义。

这三份新的协议是最近由New South Innovations 签订的。 UNSW的技术转移的有力助手是台湾的E-Ton Solar 公司，中国南京的CEEG PV Tech公司以及 Suntech Power公司。

Professor Wenham说：“每一份协议都能为UNSW提供研究资金的保障。这些资金使我们能雇佣更多的员工。更重要的是使我们能够让我们的员工和学生接触和学习到生产的技术经验。可以说，它使我们走出实验室并且使我们有机会致力于太阳能事业。

我们能自豪的说这些公司已经想过其他一切的可行办法但是最后还是选择了UNSW。因为他们的全面评估表明UNSW拥有当前最好的技术和发展前景。

和台湾的E-Ton Solar Tech 签订的专利使用权转让协定以$1700000 成交。其中包括UNSW发展两个用于商业产品用途的高效率太阳能电池技术的合作性的项目。E-Ton是一家发展迅速的专注于高性能太阳能电池产品的公司。他们期望能利用他们现有的技术和UNSW的研究以确保他们在太阳能电池生产方面的领先地位。

第二个和中国南京的 CEEG PV Tech公司签订的专利使用权转让协定以$1400000 成交。此协议包括了一项改编UNSW的保持世界记录的PERL太阳能技术以适应广泛的商业生产用途合作性研究项目。

第三个协议是和Suntech签订的一个着重于发展一种形成金属连接点的新方法以改进太阳能电池的效率。 此协议是基于之前UNSW 和 Suntech 一起合作研究的半导体太阳能技术的成功合作的延续。

UNSW的副校长Fred Hilmer教授还说道， Shi博士的公司去年还慷慨资助UNSW$1500000来支持UNSW的光电学研究。
 
UNSW在过去的25年以来始终保持着在光电学方面领先地位。

Hilmer 教授提到，可能大家会担心海外市场会对我们的技术失去兴趣。然而，我们正和一些企业如 E-Ton, CEEG Nanjing PV Tech and Suntech 在技术研究方面合作。 这种合作意味着UNSW将继续把我们的太阳能技术在亚洲作商务性的推广和利用。同时，在未来的几十年里， 我们有信心将相应的产品销往世界其他国家。

这对澳大利亚经济的发展贡献了极大的力量。我们进入亚洲市场的机会已经来了，因为中国有着发展绿色能源的目标以及在相关产品上的巨大需求。然而， 虽然我们有技术的解决方案，这些生产公司仍然需要提高生产效率和降低生产成本以配合市场的发展。

在新加坡政府的支持下， 我们同时也在新加坡发展了我们的研发团队。

ARC卓越光电学研究中心同样也在日本和韩国发展合作性研究项目。用他们的技术所生产的产品畅销全世界。 UNSW 将继续寻求类似的有利于大学本身和国家的商业合作。

Asian deals for UNSW solar technology

UNSW’s international leadership as a supplier of photovoltaic technology continues as three new agreements are signed with some of the world’s fastest growing solar cell manufacturers in Asia. One of these is with Suntech Power, the NYSE listed solar cell company formed by UNSW graduate Dr Zhengrong Shi.

The Chinese Government’s State Renewable Energy Medium and Long Term Development Program, states that renewable energy is expected to account for 16 percent of China’s total energy supply by 2020. Once the Renewable Energy Law came into effect in February 2005, the race was on amongst solar cell manufacturers to see who could make the most efficient and cost effective products. Part of the strategy of these manufacturers in finding the world’s best technology today, involved a conversation with researchers from UNSW’s ARC Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence.

The Centre is a world-class group working under the Directorship of Professor Stuart Wenham.

“Funding from the ARC and support from UNSW has allowed us to establish one of the world’s best solar cell research laboratories,” says Professor Wenham. “Combining this with what I believe is the best team of solar-cell researchers internationally has given UNSW a great opportunity to develop world-leading technology.

“The time draws ever-nearer when solar cells will provide a significant part of the world’s energy needs so it is important that Australia continues to be at the forefront of these innovations.”

The three new deals that were recently signed by NewSouth Innovations, the technology transfer arm of UNSW are with E-Ton Solar Tech Co in Taiwan, CEEG Nanjing PV Tech in China and Suntech Power in China.

“Each of these deals will see valuable funds flowing back to UNSW,” says Professor Wenham. “This means we can employ more staff and, most importantly, expose our staff and students to the hands on technical experience of manufacturing. They get us out of the lab and working at ‘solar-face’ so to speak.

“We are proud to say that these companies have looked at what else is available but have come to UNSW because their assessments show that we have the best technologies today and for the future.”

The $1.7million licensing agreement signed with E-Ton Solar Tech in Taiwan, R.O.C. includes a collaborative research program to develop two of UNSW’s latest high efficiency solar cell technologies for commercial production. E-Ton is a rapidly growing solar cell manufacturer specialising in high performance products. By combining their existing technology with UNSW’s research they hope to ensure they stay at the cutting edge of solar cell manufacture.

The second deal is a $1.4 million licensing agreement with CEEG Nanjing PV Tech in China. This agreement includes a collaborative research program to adapt UNSW’s world-record holding PERL solar cell technology to suit large-scale commercial production.

The third deal with Suntech is a research agreement that focuses on developing an innovative way of forming metal contacts to improve solar cell efficiency. This deal follows the successful development of Semiconductor Finger Solar Cell technology which came out of previous collaborative research between UNSW and Suntech.

UNSW’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Fred Hilmer added that Dr Shi’s company also generously gave $1.5million to the University last year to support UNSW’s photovoltaic research.

The University’s reputation as world leader in photovoltaics has been built up over the past 25 years.

“There was a time when there were fears that our technology would be lost to overseas interests but we are now working with companies like E-Ton, CEEG Nanjing PV Tech and Suntech on research at the University. These types of collaborations mean that UNSW will be commercialising our solar technology in Asia and selling it to the rest of the world for decades to come,” Professor Hilmer says.

“The benefits flowing back to the Australian economy are enormous. Our push into Asia has come, partly, because of China’s green-energy targets and their huge demands for products but we are proud to have the solutions these companies need to drive efficiency and push their manufacturing costs down.

“We are also developing R&D capacity in Singapore with the support of the Singapore Government.”

The ARC Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence has collaborative research work also taking place in Japan and Korea, and the technologies these companies produce is sold in products throughout the world.

UNSW will continue to look for commercial deals like these which provide benefit to the University and to the nation.