Tyree’s $11m gift ensures UNSW is at the cutting-edge of clean energy

Dr Peter Tyree, an electrical engineer and Chair of the Tyree Foundation, says he, his father and the Tyree Foundation Board saw clean energy technologies as an important part of preventing climate change and minimising pollution for future generations. “UNSW has the world’s leading experts in photovoltaics, and is right up the top in a lot of the other new renewable energy sources, which we as a world depend upon,” says Dr Tyree. “We support this [research] with our own money because we believe in it so much.”

Today, a dynamic multi-storey building on campus bears the Tyree family name and houses some of the nation’s brightest engineers and energy analysts.

Known as the UNSW Tyree Energy Technologies Building (TETB), the structure has been more than 10 years in the making, and stands as a testament to the Tyree family’s passion for education, and their shared goal of realising a smarter, cleaner, more secure energy future.

Standing prominently at the Anzac Parade entrance to Kensington campus, the TETB is an architectural gem of sustainability and a ‘living laboratory’ for the researchers, educators and students who work and learn within its walls.

Recognisable with its wave-inspired roof and exterior terracotta panels, the TETB boasts the top design rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.

A rooftop solar array, comprised of UNSW-developed solar cells, meets up to 25% of electricity needs and allows for the testing of new PV and microgrid technologies. Meanwhile, a tri-generation system burns gas to produce low-carbon electricity, and captures waste heat to produce hot and cold water for the building.

Other features help reduce power consumption, such as a concrete thermal labyrinth in the foundation, which cools and heats circulated air by up to four degrees Celsius, depending on the time of year.

This temperature control feature can reduce reliance on power-hungry air conditioners and heating systems.

Inside, the building features classrooms, lecture halls, meetings rooms, design studios, along with state-of-the-art research laboratories and clean rooms. Importantly, the interior spaces have been designed to promote interdisciplinary collaboration.

“The TETB allows people to come in and move around,” says Dr Tyree. “It allows the students of today to interact with postgraduates and be far more practical than would otherwise be the case. They are involved… and they can see the state-of-the-art work that’s being done.”

Dr Tyree says his family wanted to create a place where people could love to work. “It’s been a long-term vision for us, and the Tyree Foundation, to facilitate the creation of a space that provides a heightened ability for people to think, and to create,” he says. One of those people is Scientia Professor Martin Green AM, a visionary solar and electrical engineer who is known as the “Father of Photovoltaics”.

Professor Green is the director of the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics, which is headquartered at the TETB. Along with his friend and long-time collaborator, the late Professor Stuart Wenham, Professor Green has set numerous world records for solar cell efficiency and has invented a range of solar cell technologies, which have been licensed globally to some of the industry’s biggest companies, including Suntech Power, BP Solar and Samsung.

Professor Green describes the TETB as having a major impact on his work and the work of his research team by providing modern, purpose built facilities for solar photovoltaic research. “[The TETB] has helped our group grow to become one of the largest and most successful internationally in this field, and has been responsible for our recent spate of world record energy conversion efficiencies across a range of solar cell approaches,” says Professor Green. “We thank the Tyree family for their generous support and for their ongoing interest in our work.”

Another distinguished academic based in the TETB is Scientia Professor Rose Amal AC. The Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and chemical engineer is developing a process through which sunlight can trigger a chemical reaction to split water molecules.

The derived hydrogen atoms could then be part of a secondary reaction with recycled carbon dioxide to produce a renewable fuel that could serve as a clean and viable replacement to fossil fuels.

All facets of energy research are being explored at the TETB which will help to spearhead access to clean, highly efficient and affordable energy sources that will better secure the planet’s wellbeing, and our modern ways of life. Some researchers are working on solar power, others on wind, nuclear energy and petroleum engineering.

Some are working on economic modelling and policymaking, trying to overcome the logistical hurdles of integrating distributed energy resources (such as small- and largescale renewable power generators, batteries, smart meters and electric vehicles) into the electricity industry. Meanwhile, others are innovating new technologies, such as sensors that will enable the automated ‘smart’ grids of tomorrow to rapidly detect and react to localised changes in power demand.

The culmination of this wide array of work will mean industry, government and members of the public are fully informed and equipped to adopt safer, more efficient and environmentally friendly energy practices.

Dr Tyree views the work in smart grids as particularly important: “There is no technology yet available that allows you to control a large and particularly long network instantaneously to avoid a major blackout,” he says. The Distributed Power Generation Research Fund, established by the Tyree Foundation in 2017, is funding projects at UNSW to help make this kind of network control possible.

“Today we continue to invest a substantial amount in technologies and spaces that are purpose-built to help spearhead new discoveries around renewable energy, new power stations, and the clean transmission and distribution of energy to grids of all sizes,” says Dr Tyree. “This means investing in technologies that others have overlooked, but which in turn will set the pace of change, and a successful framework, for future generations.”

“Throughout my career, I have always cherished the advice my father gave me: never invest in a black hole,” adds Dr Tyree. “UNSW is not a black hole. What you see in that building is the work, the tangible evidence, that our funding is making a difference. We are seeing outputs.”

In 2016, Professor Green and his colleague Dr Mark Keevers developed a solar module that converts 34.5% of direct, non-concentrated sunlight into electricity.

It was an astonishing world record, even for Professor Green, who has spent more than four decades in the field. “What’s remarkable,” he said at the time, “is this level of efficiency had not been expected for many years.”

More recently, in July 2018, Scientia Fellow Dr Xiaojing Hao reported a new world record, exceeding 10% efficiency for sulfide kesterite solar cells. These next-generation solar cells hold promise for the future because they are made from abundant, non-toxic materials: copper, zinc, tin and sulphur.

The UNSW-Tyree Foundation partnership has also seen numerous scholarships established: “One of the core objectives of the Tyree Foundation is education,” says Mrs Robbie Fennell, a member of the Foundation’s board, Non-Executive Director of the Tyree Group of Companies, and Sir William’s daughter.

"Through these scholarships, we’ve been able to help students achieve their goals in education.” Mrs Fennell says the benefits to Australian society are “unbelievably wonderful”.

“There’s a euphoric sensation when you give money to a tangible cause,” Dr Tyree adds. “That great feeling is enhanced by seeing the results of what we do. For that reason, we’ll continue to give money to UNSW to advance the betterment of society.”

Dr Tyree says the University is a “dynamic and innovative achiever” with a clear vision for the future outlined in its 2025 strategy: “We believe in that vision, and we see a role for us,” he says.

“[The TETB] has helped our group grow to become one of the largest and most successful internationally in this field.” - Scientia Professor Martin Green AM

01. Scientia Professor Martin Green AM poses with solar panels on a rooftop at the UNSW.

02. The Tyree Energy Technologies Building from Anzac Parade, Kensington.