Suzhou, China – May 7, 2025 – Suzhou Maxwell Technology Co., Ltd. (“Maxwell”), Jiangsu Vistar Equipment Technology Co., Ltd. (“Vistar”), and SunDrive Solar Pty Ltd. (“SunDrive”) have officially entered a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly advance seedless copper electroplating technologies and equipment for next-generation heterojunction (HJT) solar cells. The agreement was signed in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, marking a significant milestone in the global push toward more efficient and cost-effective photovoltaic manufacturing.
(From left): Hu Youzhong, SunDrive’s Co-founder; Qi Xuejun, Director of Strategic Development of Maxwell;
Gong Qing, Vistar’s General Manager; Vince Allen, SunDrive’s Co-founder
Under the agreement, the three companies will collaborate on the research, development, and industrialization of high-efficiency copper electroplating equipment and processes. Building on SunDrive’s ISFH-certified 26.6% conversion efficiency and Maxwell’s industry-leading manufacturing systems, the partnership aims to optimize mass production performance, improve cell efficiency, and accelerate the commercialization of silver-free technologies.
The alliance will also facilitate patent sharing, enhance product competitiveness, and support joint expansion into global markets.
“Technological innovation is the cornerstone for long-term growth in the photovoltaic industry,” said Jian Zhou, Chairman of Maxwell. “This collaboration strengthens our shared commitment to pushing the boundaries of cell efficiency, module power output, and manufacturability—paving the way toward the 780W+ era of heterojunction technology.”
Qing Gong, General Manager of Vistar, highlighted the company’s confidence in the emerging technology:
“Since initiating trials with seed copper technology in 2022 and moving into seedless copper in 2024 with Maxwell, we have seen the immense potential of this process. We are excited to join forces with Maxwell and SunDrive to bring this innovation to broader markets.”
Youzhong Hu, Co-founder of SunDrive, added:
“Our longstanding cooperation with Maxwell has been built on mutual trust and respect. This new phase of partnership—with both Maxwell and Vistar—provides a strong platform to scale SunDrive’s technology in Australia and globally. We’re especially enthusiastic about integrating our innovations into large-scale heterojunction production.”
Maxwell and SunDrive began their joint efforts in 2021, developing high-efficiency HJT cells using Maxwell’s full-process equipment—including texturing, PECVD, and PVD—alongside SunDrive’s proprietary seedless copper electroplating system. Their silver-free HJT cells have repeatedly achieved top-tier conversion efficiencies, with a peak of 26.60% validated by ISFH.
This strategic agreement reinforces the three parties’ commitment to accelerating the industrial transition from silver to copper metallization and is expected to redefine the commercial efficiency benchmarks for heterojunction solar cells.
About Maxwell
Suzhou Maxwell Technologies Co. Ltd. (‘Maxwell’) is a high-end equipment manufacturer in the pan-semiconductor industry, possessing independent R&D capabilities in core technologies such as vacuum, laser, precision engineering, software, and automation. In the solar PV industry, Maxwell specializes in advanced production solutions including full-automatic solar cell metallization lines and HJT cell manufacturing equipment. Founded in 2010, Maxwell has over 5000 employees and customers include the world’s leading solar manufacturers, including Tongwei Solar, Trina Solar, Longi, JA Solar, Jinko, Canadian Solar, etc.
About SunDrive
SunDrive is an Australian-founded, Sydney-based solar technology company creating unique solutions to reduce the cost of high-efficiency solar cells, whilst enhancing their performance and sustainability by replacing silver with copper, a more abundant and efficient material. SunDrive investors include Blackbird Ventures, Main Sequence Ventures, Grok Ventures, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and has received funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena).
About Vistar
Jiangsu Vistar Equipment Technology Co. Ltd. Co (‘Vistar’) designs and manufactures specialized solar production equipment, specializing in wet chemical processing and equipment automation for next-generation solar technologies.
Contact of Maxwell
Sky Sheng
PV Sales Director
+86 150 2100 2367
shengchenxin@maxwell-gp.com