SunDrive partners with Maxwell and Vistar to scale copper HJT solar tech

Sydney-based solar technology company, SunDrive has partnered with Maxwell Technologies and Vistar Equipment Technology through a Joint Development Agreement. The deal focuses on co-developing and distributing commercial-scale direct-copper plating tools for high-efficiency heterojunction (HJT) solar cells. The collaboration aims to scale SunDrive’s copper metallisation technology by leveraging Maxwell’s HJT equipment expertise and Vistar’s industrial capabilities. It follows SunDrive’s earlier initiative with Trinasolar and builds on a five-year technical partnership with Maxwell, which includes a joint cell efficiency record of 25.54%. Copper is being positioned as a cost-effective alternative to silver, helping address key material constraints in HJT manufacturing. The agreement supports global and domestic rollout of the technology.