Renewables tech honoured in latest QEPrize awards

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Technology helping to underpin the clean energy transition has been recognised at the latest QEPrize ceremony, where both the 2022 and 2023 awards were presented.

QEPrize

Established 10 years ago, the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (QEPrize) is presented to engineers responsible for groundbreaking innovations that have displayed global benefit for humanity. The 2023 QEPrize was presented to Professor Martin Green, Professor Andrew Blakers, Dr Aihua Wang and Dr Jianhua Zhao for the invention and development of Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell (PERC) solar photovoltaic technology. Over the past decade, PERC has helped cut the cost of solar by around 80 per cent, making it one of the cheapest forms of energy available globally.

During the same ceremony at Buckingham Palace, the 2022 QEPrize was also presented to Dr Masato Sagawa for the discovery, development and global commercialisation of neodymium magnets (NdFeB), the most powerful permanent magnets available today. As well as being key components in wind turbines and electric vehicles, NdFeB magnets can also be found in advanced electrical devices such as smartphones and robots.

“These two innovations are truly groundbreaking,” said Lord Browne of Madingley, chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation.

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QEPrize