Joseph Coventry

Joe Coventry is an Associate Professor at the Australian National University (ANU), affiliated with the School of Engineering within the ANU College of Systems & Society. He holds an ANU Translational Fellowship and has extensive experience in developing and commercializing concentrating solar technologies. Previously, he served as Principal Engineer at Wizard Power, leading the engineering team for the Big Dish CSP technology.

Education:

• BE/BSc, University of Melbourne (1997)
• PhD, Australian National University (2004)

Research Interests: His work focuses on advancing concentrating solar thermal (CST) and thermal energy storage (TES) technologies to enhance their competitiveness and accelerate decarbonization in power and heavy industries. Key areas include low-cost heliostat technologies, sodium receiver systems, optical absorber coatings, high-temperature thermal storage, and green hydrogen supply for industry.

Awards:

• 2023 SolarPACES Technology Innovation Award
• 2021 Solar Energy Journal Best Paper Award
• 2018 ANU Translational Fellowship

Grants & Collaborations: Lead Investigator in ARENA’s Ultra-Low-Cost Solar Integration and HILT CRC’s High-Temperature Thermal Storage and Green Hydrogen Supply projects. Active in Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute (ASTRI) and ANU Grand Challenge ‘Zero-Carbon Energy’ initiatives. Also leads ARC Linkage projects on absorber coatings and liquid metal heat transfer.

Labs & Teams: Core member of the Heavy Industry Low-Carbon Transition CRC and ASTRI program, collaborating with global partners like NREL and Sandia National Laboratories.