Published Jul 9, 2026
Solar energy is the fastest-growing source of electricity worldwide and is central to a sustainable energy future. However, standard silicon solar technology is nearing a critical energy output limit, known as the Shockley–Queisser limit, which restricts the amount of sunlight a silicon solar cell can convert into electricity to approximately 33%.
Solar manufacturers are under increasing pressure to provide solar panels that have higher energy output for the same solar energy input (efficiency), at equal or lower cost. This is a global challenge that demands new approaches.
TwoPhold has been founded to address just this. It builds on, and commercialises, research led by Nathaniel (Nate) Davis, Associate Professor in Physical Chemistry at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. With his team, Nate has created a perovskite liquid material that uses novel materials to effectively split photons in two, enabling more electricity to be generated from the sunlight absorbed by the solar cell.
“TwoPhold have turned a global challenge into an opportunity to increase solar cell efficiency up to approximately 44%, pushing way past the limits of standard silicon technology while utilising solution processable materials to drive costs further down,” says Nate.
Together with co-founder Nikita Shumilov, who has just completed his doctorate in the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Nate and the team are developing a scalable prototype that uses TwoPhold’s technology to demonstrate the efficiency gains, without significantly increasing the cost of producing the solar cell.
New Zealand roots, global ambition
This high-impact research is being accelerated through commercialisation support from Wellington UniVentures. Ela Romanowska, Senior Commercialisation Manager at Wellington UniVentures, has helped raise funds for the team by identifying early market segments, developing intellectual property and partnership strategies, and defining clear commercial milestones. The team’s work is funded through the Dodd-Walls Centre and the PreSeed Accelerator Fund, managed by KiwiNet, as well as UniVentures.
“I thoroughly enjoy working with researchers like Nate and Nikita. They are driven, world-class scientists who apply innovative thinking to their research with specific commercial outcomes in mind. They have the right attributes to become successful deep-tech business entrepreneurs: optimising limited resources to achieve excellence in science, and to attract interest from investors and potential commercial partners. I’m so excited to watch them take the leap into a commercial pathway,” says Ela.
TwoPhold’s pathway is facilitated by several additional players in New Zealand’s commercialisation ecosystem, including the MacDiarmid Institute and the Pacific Channel pre-incubator. Nikita has also been accepted into the 2026 KiwiNet Emerging Innovator Programme, encouraged by Nate, an Emerging Innovator alumnus himself. The initiative provides early-stage researchers with targeted mentoring and resources to help them grow as entrepreneurs. Having both undertaken the programme, the co-founders are building capability within the team and gaining valuable skills for TwoPhold’s future growth.
TwoPhold is developing the next major advancement in solar energy from Aotearoa New Zealand for the global solar industry, making its mark in the drive to achieve lower CO2 emissions through lower-cost renewable energy.
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