RayGen is commercialising a new approach to high-tech solar PV with integrated long-duration energy storage (LDES), offering a comprehensive solution for the flight against climate change. RayGen’s approach combines high efficiency, multijunction photovoltaic cells that deliver over 38% power conversion efficiency under concentration, with a water-based cooling system that forms the basis of the storage technology. Similarly to conventional solar PV, energy is generated during daytime hours, however RayGen’s integrated storage enables the delivery of low-cost, dispatchable power, available 24/7. Through investment from global energy majors in Equinor, SLB (previously Schlumberger), Chevron, AGL, Photon Energy Group and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, RayGen has delivered the world’s largest next-generation LDES project in Carwarp, Australia. A growing, GW-scale pipeline of utility-scale projects is being developed in collaboration with RayGen’s partners that will require a step-change in multijunction solar cell manufacturing capacity globally.
Kira Rundel leads commercial and strategic projects at RayGen, a Melbourne-based next-generation solar and storage company, supporting the development and deployment of grid-scale renewable energy projects in Australia and globally. Prior to joining RayGen, Kira worked as a consultant at Bain & Company. Kira obtained a bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Arizona in 2015 and a PhD in MSE from Monash University in 2019 for her research in next-generation organic solar cells.