Goal #7 Affordable and Clean Energy | Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

�ʹڲ�Ʊ was awarded more than $29.3 million in 2023 to support activities aiming to significantly reduce the cost of solar.

100%

solar energy

All �ʹڲ�Ʊ electricity is from renewable sources under a world-first 15-year solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

Net Zero

emissions

We've achieved our target of net zero in scope 1 and 2 emissions every year since 2020.

In this video, Professor Alistair Sproul from the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, �ʹڲ�Ʊ, breaks down some of the key challenges behind SDG #7.

Our work

Solar pioneers celebrate 50 years

The �ʹڲ�Ʊ team who invented the solar cells, led by Scientia Professor Martin Green, had no idea how world-changing their work would become back in 1974 when they set up Australia’s first solar research lab.

�ʹڲ�Ʊ wins world solar race

With its student-built and designed Sunswift 7 electric car, �ʹڲ�Ʊ again won the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (Cruiser Class) by a substantial margin and set a Guinness World Record. Students are currently working on a Sunswift 8 car, which will feature hydrogen fuel cells for the first time.

Climate change and clean energy panel

This panel discussion on climate change and clean energy was run as part of �ʹڲ�Ʊ's inaugural SDG Showcase in September 2024.

The SDG Showcase was a free, all-day event open to all the community that presented the amazing work �ʹڲ�Ʊ is doing to progress the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through transformative education, innovative research and partnerships with communities around the world.

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�ʹڲ�Ʊ Clean Energy Capability Portfolio

The Portfolio demonstrates how �ʹڲ�Ʊ plays a critical role in working together with our local and international partners to address the most pressing global energy issues including reliability, affordability and sustainability through research. This includes outlining the research centres and facilities that focus on affordable and clean energy.

Tap into the largest and most diverse grouping of energy experts in Australia.

The centres and research groups that contribute to the �ʹڲ�Ʊ Clean Energy Capability Portfolio include:

�ʹڲ�Ʊ Digital Grid Futures Institute

The �ʹڲ�Ʊ Digital Grid Futures Institute brings together �ʹڲ�Ʊ's elite researchers and major partners across industry, government, research institutions and the community to advance the blueprint for future energy systems globally.

Tyree Energy Technologies Building

Real-Time Digital Simulation (RTDS) Laboratory

Particles and Catalysis Research Laboratory (PartCat)

Materials Energy Research Laboratory in Nanoscale (MERLin)

The Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre (MWAC)

The German-Australian Alliance for Electrochemical Technologies for the Storage of Renewable Energy

The Collaboration on Energy and Environmental Markets

Vanadium Redox Batteries

ARC Training Centre for Fire Retardant Materials

ARC Research Hub for Integrated Energy Storage Solutions

Climate Justice Project

Earth Hour & Energy Efficiency

�ʹڲ�Ʊ Energy Institute

Over the last 30 years, �ʹڲ�Ʊ has carved a formidable reputation as one of the world's leading research and technology hubs for energy innovation.

The Institute accelerates the role that energy plays in supporting a growing, zero-carbon economy and provides an independent, evidence-based, system-wide understanding of energy’s contribution to the economy, coordinates energy activities across �ʹڲ�Ʊ and collaborates with industry, government, community stakeholders and other research institutions. This includes on-the-ground international energy developments, global IP partnerships leading solar PV technologies and the creation of a leading social entrepreneur alumni group.

World-first fusion device

The first-ever nuclear fusion device to be wholly designed, built and operated by students is being planned for �ʹڲ�Ʊ Sydney.

The small-scale tokamak device is set to be housed at �ʹڲ�Ʊ’s main Kensington campus. The program is part of the �ʹڲ�Ʊ’s (VIP) scheme designed to engage undergraduate and postgraduate students in ambitious, long-term, multidisciplinary challenges.

The project is led by nuclear engineering expert Dr Patrick Burr and aims to have a working device operating within two to three years.

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Sunswift electric car

�ʹڲ�Ʊ Sydney’s Sunswift 7 solar-powered electric car has claimed a Guinness World Record, achieving the record of ‘Fastest EV over 1000km on a single charge’. The car, designed and built by students, posted a verified time of 11 hours 52.08 minutes, averaging almost 85km/h at the Australian Automotive Research Centre (AARC) in Wensleydale, Victoria.

Sunswift 7 is the latest in a long line of successful solar-powered cars from �ʹڲ�Ʊ since the first vehicle was produced in 1996.

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�ʹڲ�Ʊ Strategy in Action 2025

Environmental sustainability is a key element of our 2025 Strategy. Our Environmental Sustainability Plan 2022-24 outlined a strategy to reduce total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net zero by 2050, divest from fossil fuel companies, reduce water and energy use by 5% (on track), and reduce general waste by 20%. As of 2023, total GHG emissions were 27% below the 2018 baseline.

Pioneers

�ʹڲ�Ʊ researchers pioneered the development of solar photovoltaic technology, which is now helping the University achieve net zero emissions from energy use.

2024 marked 50 years since �ʹڲ�Ʊ Scientia Professor Martin Green set up Australia’s first solar research lab in 1974.

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Net Zero by 2025

�ʹڲ�Ʊ is on track to meet the 2025 target of a 30% reduction in total emissions (scope 1, 2 & 3) and aim of net zero emissions by 2050.

100%

�ʹڲ�Ʊ has been powered by 100% renewable energy since 2020, through a solar Power Purchase Agreement.

�ʹڲ�Ʊ 2025 Strategy Update

This document celebrates the key achievements of the first phase of the 2025 Strategy, highlighting where we have come from and where we are now. It also updates the framework against which we will assess, track and measure existing and new strategic initiatives over the next five years.

�ʹڲ�Ʊ Environmental Sustainability Report

�ʹڲ�Ʊ has a history of environmental stewardship across research, learning & teaching and campus operations across several decades. The Environmental Sustainability Report 2023 measures and outlines our achievements to date.

Future Clean Energy Expo 2024

Discover �ʹڲ�Ʊ research and innovation that’s powering a more sustainable future.

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SunSPOT: Helping households and business understand renewable energy

The �ʹڲ�Ʊ School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering developed the tool, designed to help households and business make decisions about investing in solar and batteries by modelling and assessing the impacts on their bills.

Solar Industrial Research Facility (SIRF)

The �ʹڲ�Ʊ Solar Industrial Research Facility (SIRF), part of the Torch Innovation Precinct at �ʹڲ�Ʊ, hosts a world-class manufacturing facility that enables the development of �ʹڲ�Ʊ's silicon solar cell technologies. Globally over 90% of all solar modules produced today are based on �ʹڲ�Ʊ technology. �ʹڲ�Ʊ also funds educational programs to develop solar systems in Fiji in partnership with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), and the University of the South Pacific (USP).

�ʹڲ�ƱERV in Vanuatu

For over a decade, �ʹڲ�Ʊ Engineering students and staff have helped address the basic communications and lighting needs for health and education in remote Vanuatu villages, using solar electricity.