Page 15 - AsiaElec Week 37 2021

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ION Energy to begin exploration at Urgakh

Naran lithium salar project in Mongolia

INDONESIA ION Energy has commenced a maiden explo- salar is approximately 10-km by three-km in
ration programme at its Urgakh Naran lithium size and is highly prospective for lithium, and
salar project in Dorngovi Province, Mongolia, the testing would be the first systematic testing
Proactive reported. of the surficial layers and brines associated with
In addition, the company said it was launch- the UN salar.
ing the programme as it celebrated the one-year ION Energy said it “remains highly encour-
anniversary of its trading start on the TSX Ven- aged,” having encountered lithium brines in its
ture Exchange. initial drilling programme at the Baavhai Uul
“Our team has accomplished so much in the lithium salar project.
past year: from a new licence acquisition to the Stratigraphic lithologies and brines inter-
closing of a significant public offering,” CEO sected in the maiden drilling program will now
Ali Haji said in a statement. “We are now very need to be systematically tested for lithium. A
pleased to be commencing the maiden explora- programme of hydrological drilling and brine
tion program at our Urgakh Naran lithium salar sampling in addition to a programme of sur-
project. This is an exciting milestone for the com- face testing of the Baavhai Uul salars is currently
pany, and another step in ION Energy’s aggres- being planned for commencement after the
sive growth strategy.” completion of drill testing of the UN salar.™
The company said the main body of the UN

Australian solar minnow sets world

solar cell efficiency record

GLOBAL AUSTRALIA’S SunDrive said this week that well as Grok Ventures, the private investment
it had set a new world record for solar cell firm of Mike and Annie Cannon-Brookes.
efficiency. Cannon-Brookes also celebrated the news
The company, which is funded by billion- on Twitter. “This little Aussie startup just set the
aire Mike Cannon-Brookes and the Australian world record for panel efficiency,” he said.
Renewable Energy Agency – says it has set a new “This is a big deal on the world stage – and it
world record for solar cell efficiency. came from some super smart people in a small
The company said that it had reached a Sydney garage. Copper is the way.”
25.54% efficiency rate for a commercial-sized SunDrive is aiming to have a demonstration
silicon solar, overtaking the previous record held module using its cells by the end of the year and
by China solar giant Longi. is building a pilot 20-MW production line to be
It said the testing was carried out by Ger- completed by 2022.
many’s Institute for Solar Energy Research at “SunDrive initially aims to use its technology
Hamelin. to focus on the rooftop solar sector, where space
SunDrive was set up in 2015 and aims to is at a premium and higher efficiency cells can
replace the use of silver in solar modules with produce greater amounts of energy for a given
copper, a cheaper and more abundant metal. footprint,” ARENA said in its press release last.
The use of silver is considered a key barrier “Over time the technology is expected to
to broader solar uptake, given the industry become more cost-effective than current solar
consumes some 20% of global silver annually, cell technologies and be adopted for large-scale
according to the Australian Renewable Energy solar.”
Agency. ARENA CEO Darren Miller said in 2020 it
The public body in 2020 provided A$3mn was fantastic to see an Australian solar startup at
($2.19mn) for SunDrive to help scale up its the forefront of producing the next generation of
operations. high-efficiency solar cells, and SunDrive’s Allen
The company was first backed by solar said at the time the company hoped to contribute
technology pioneer and Suntech founder Shi to Australia’s rich heritage of advancing solar cell
Zhengrong, and more recently by Australia and technology.™
NZ-based VC investor Blackbird Ventures, as

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