Andrew Blakers, AO FAA FTSE | Professor
Australian National University

Andrew Blakers (AO FAA FTSE FRSN) is Professor of Engineering at the Australian National University. He was winner of the 2024 Clunies Ross Technology Innovation Award. He was joint winner of the 2023 Queen Elizabeth Prize (the top global engineering prize) for PERC solar cell technology. PERC comprises half of all solar panels ever made, has cumulative panel sales of US$180 billion, and is mitigating 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions through displacement of coal. Prof Blakers engages in analysis of 100% renewable energy systems based on wind and solar photovoltaics supported by storage for which he was joint winner of the 2018 Eureka Prize for Environmental Research. He and his team developed a global atlas of a million off-river pumped hydro energy storage sites which is highly influential in the renewable energy storage industry, with projects stemming from the atlas worth tens of billions of dollars. He is an  Officer of the Order of Australia and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering and the Royal Society of NSW.