Cheaper and more efficient solar is coming down the line thanks to a new tech that’s attracted some heavyweight investors looking to fast track its production.

The patented technology from an Australian startup called SunDrive uses copper as the conductive material to pull electrical current from solar cells in place of the industry standard which is silver.

SunDrive’s technology was created by co-founder and CEO Vince Allen who focused on replacing silver with copper in his PhD at the University of NSW. He founded SunDrive in 2015 in his garage alongside David Hu, a former fellow student and flatmate, with a view to commercialising the breakthrough.

The cool thing about copper is that it’s nearly 100 times cheaper than silver, an important consideration given that silver currently accounts for around half of the cost of solar cell production, so the switch could significantly drive down the cost of making solar cells.

Copper is also around 1,000 times more abundant. The solar industry already consumes around 10 per cent of the world’s silver, and 20 per cent of total industrial demand, underlining the need to find alternative minerals.

If that’s not enough, the SunDrive technology has also set world records for efficiency, further boosting its commercial appeal.  Last year SunDrive produced a solar cell with an efficiency of 25.54 per cent, making it the most efficient commercial-sized solar cell ever created worldwide. The panels on most suburban rooftops can only convert about 20 per cent in contrast.