Suntech just announced a research partnership with Swinburne University in Australia. Suntech’s CEO, Dr. Zhengrong Shi, and Swinburne’s Centre for Micro-Photonics Director, Professor Min Gu, will work together to develop more efficient "next generation" solar cells. To fund the project, the University will contribute 43 million worth of funding and Suntech will contribute another $3 million.

In an article from PV-Tech.org, Professor Gu described the potential benefits of the research:

The project will be based around the development of nanoplasmonic solar cells," said Professor Gu. This new technology allows for the efficient collection of solar energy in a wider colour range than those currently being developed in other laboratories. "These will be twice as efficient as the current generation of cells, and will also cost significantly less to run.