Solar and battery research lands $4.3 million from $344 million ARC fund

A collection of 290 Australian university research projects will share a $344 million (USD 246 million) investment through the Australian Research Council’s (ARC’s) 2026 Future Fellowships, with $4.3 million divided between six solar and battery energy storage projects.

ARC Chief Executive Officer Professor Ute Roessner said the projects demonstrate the value of investing in research that expand knowledge, address complex challenges and create benefits for Australians.

“The breadth of research supported through this round demonstrates the value of investing across disciplines – from fundamental research that expands our knowledge to research addressing some of the practical challenges Australia faces,” Roessner said.

Solar

From the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, $1.1 million is allocated to Dr Kaiwen Sun whose project aims to develop an all-chalcogenide tandem photoelectrochemical system for unassisted, solar-driven green ammonia production.

Also from UNSW, $1 million has been allocated to Dr Meng Zhang’s project which aims to advance next-generation photovoltaic technologies based on wide-bandgap perovskites by expanding the understanding of crystallisation kinetics and anisotropy-driven defect management to improve device efficiency and stability.

From the University of Melbourne, Associate Professor Lars Georigk is granted $1.3 million to develop a computational chemistry toolkit with robust, freely available methods for accurately modelling molecular processes after light absorption, including how molecules interact with one another after exposure to light.

Expected outcomes include improved workflows to design solar cells, molecular switches, and photochemical reactions.

RMIT University’s Dr Lifeng Wang has been allocated $997,000 to advance knowledge in solar energy harvesting and conversion by developing next-generation high-entropy materials and uncovering how atomic-scale structures influence their performance.

It intends to establish scalable fabrication strategies that produce materials with enhanced stability, conductivity, and multifunctionality.

Battery

Professor Ashok Kumar Nanjundan from the University of Southern Queensland is awarded $1.3 million for his research to develop new self-healing materials for next-generation sodium-ion batteries by combining advanced forms of graphene with flexible polymers to create electrodes that can repair small cracks and damage during use.

By studying how these materials recover and store energy, the research will deliver longer-lasting, safer and more sustainable batteries made without using toxic solvents.