Kiwo, Starleaton and Fuji Xerox are sponsoring the first public demonstration of printer solar cells from the University of Newcastle at PacPrint next week.
This sponsorship solidifies their foresight and commitment to future technologies.
The three companies join PacPrint, the University of Newcastle, the CRC for Polymers, the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) and logistics and supply chain company CHEP in sponsoring the installation, which will be constructed on the lawn area between the MCEC and the Yarra River.
Professor Paul Dastoor, head of the University’s Priority Research Centre for Organic Electronics, which has developed the organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells, says the demonstration is an important step in turning his team’s prototypes into a commercial reality.
“As researchers, much of what we do happens behind closed doors, but when we get close to a market-ready product, as we have with these printed solar panels, our goal is to report on what we have achieved and work towards getting the product to market,” he says.
“PacPrint is the ideal venue for us to do that, as it not only provides a high-profile location for the installation and a great venue for our public lecture, but will also allow us to demonstrate this new technology to the print professionals who will play such an important role in bringing it to a commercial reality.
“We are delighted to have the support of the PacPrint Board and industry leaders like Fuji Xerox Australia, Starleaton and Kiwo, for this public launch. It is exciting to find companies with both the foresight, and the commitment, to back important new innovations, and we thank them most sincerely.”
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Martin Stacher, regional director Asia-Pacific for KIWO, says the decision to sponsor the installation is consistent with his company’s full support for alternative energies and its role as a supplier of pre-press chemistry for the solar cell manufacturing process worldwide.
“We firmly believe that Australia should be leading the world in renewable energy technologies like solar, wind and water power – in fact, we draw 80 per cent of the energy for our Tullamarine headquarters from a 50KW solar system. We are delighted to be supporting this revolutionary technology display at PacPrint.”
The University of Newcastle OPV installation will be located on the lawns outside Door 3 to the MCEC during PacPrint 2017, which runs from May 23-26.
A public lecture about the project will be held in the Clarendon Room at the same venue, at 6pm on Wednesday 24 May.
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