Andrew Blakers

Andrew Blakers is Professor of Engineering at the Australian National University. In the 1980s and 1990s he co-produced silicon solar cells with world record efficiencies. He was a lead developer of the PERC silicon solar cell, for which he was joint winner of the top global engineering Queen Elizabeth Prize in 2023. PERC technology comprises half of all solar panels ever made, and has cumulative panel sales of US$150 billion, and is mitigating 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions through displacement of coal. Prof Blakers engages in analysis of energy systems with 80-100% penetration by wind and solar photovoltaics supported by storage for which he was joint winner of the 2018 Eureka Prize for Environmental Research. He and his team developed a comprehensive global atlas of a million off-river pumped hydro energy storage sites which is highly influential in the renewable energy storage industry, and with projects stemming from the atlas worth tens of billions of dollars.