Brett Jason Hallam

Associate Professor Brett Jason Hallam is a Scientia Fellow at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), affiliated with the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering. His research focuses on advancing solar panel manufacturing, particularly improving efficiency and reducing costs through innovations like selective emitter formation, laser processing, and hydrogen passivation. Key areas include understanding hydrogen passivation mechanisms to address defects in silicon solar cells and developing next-generation technologies such as TOPCon and SHJ cells.

Education: PhD in Photovoltaic Engineering (UNSW, 2014), BE (First Class Honours and University Medal) and BSc in Physics/Oceanography (UNSW, 2009). He has held research placements at Fraunhofer Institute (Germany), Oxford University (UK), and IMEC (Belgium).

Research Interests: Advanced hydrogenation for solar cells, material challenges for terawatt-scale PV deployment, reducing silver consumption, and sustainable manufacturing. Current projects include ARENA-funded initiatives on high-efficiency solar cell technologies and next-generation selective emitters.

Notable Awards: 2018 Scientia Fellow, 2017 NSW Premier Prize for Energy Innovation, and 2016 Ulrich Goesele Young Scientist Award. His work addresses global energy transition goals, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050.

Industry Experience: Consultant for Suntech Power and Technology Transfer Team at UNSW, collaborating with companies like LONGi and Jinko. He advises on silicon solar cell technologies and has 16 patents.

Labs/Teams: Active in UNSW’s PV research groups, focusing on scalable solar solutions and material science innovations.