Abstract submission deadline extended to March 30

SolarPACES 2026 – Call for Abstracts ­ ­ The 32nd SolarPACES Conference will take place on September 15-18, 2026 in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany. Don’t miss the opportunity to share your research findings and latest insights with the international CSP/CST community and submit your abstract. Due to numerous requests, we have extended the deadline to March …

Concentrated solar lithium battery recycling demo bests fossil-fueled recovery rate

PROMES-CNRS researchers have further advanced their lithium-ion battery recycling using concentrated solar heat. The team has now shown they can recover 76% of the lithium and up to 99.3% of the cobalt at 1100°C. Working with the French battery recycling company SNAM, the PROMES team has modeled and has now demonstrated a proof of concept …

Published at Energy Conversion and managaement – Design and performance study on a novel solar moving-bed pyrolysis reactor for waste salt treatment

Abstract: Industrial waste salts with organic impurities require eco-friendly treatment. Conventional pyrolysis relies on fossil fuels, however, concentrated solar energy offers a clean alternative. This study proposes a novel solar moving-bed pyrolysis reactor for purifying waste salt that combines a planar mirror with a parabolic trough concentrator to enable continuous solar irradiation of a vertical …

Published at Energy Conversion and Management – Constructing a novel closed-loop and efficient pathway for multi-functional CO2 utilization in concentrated solar power systems

Abstract: In concentrated solar thermochemical cycles, CO2 utilization enables both energy storage and release. However, the high energy consumption associated with CO2 compression has limited the overall performance of solar power generation. In this work, an energy storage system coupling thermochemical and electrochemical cycles is proposed. This system constructs a “heat storage − electricity storage …

Published at Solar Energy – Design of a SiC-Si moving packed-bed particle-to-sCO2 heat exchanger for high temperature concentrating solar power applications

Abstract: Particle-based concentrating solar power systems integrated with sCO2 power cycles offer high thermal efficiencies but require durable heat exchangers to transfer heat from high-temperature particles to the sCO2 working fluid. This study presents the design and optimization of a silicon carbide-silicon moving packed-bed heat exchanger for fabrication via binder jetting additive manufacturing. The heat …

Published at Journal of Energy Storage – Enrichment and thermal characteristics study of coconut oil based phase change material configured concentrated solar heat exchanger

Abstract: Solar-based heat exchange is well-known and widely used in a variety of commercial applications, including textiles, food drying, chemical plants, and water heating. The conventional solar heater equipped with a hybrid nanofluid demonstrated superior heat transfer capabilities. However, it faces the constraints of inadequate energy storage at high thermal radiation and limited operation due …

Published at Energy – Turbo-assisted direct solar air heater for medium temperature industrial processes using Linear Fresnel Collectors. Assessment on daily and yearly basis

Abstract: The study analyzes an innovative concentrating solar thermal system aimed at the direct production of hot air for industrial applications. Air is heated inside linear Fresnel collectors in an open to atmosphere circuit, not requiring the use of a primary heat transfer fluid and a heat exchanger, with their associated cost and maintenance. Matching …

Published at Thermal Science and Enginering Progress – Techno-economic assessment of a concentrating solar air heater and packed-bed thermal energy storage for medium-temperature industrial process heat

Abstract: Among the solar thermal technologies, the Linear Fresnel collector can provide solar heat for industrial processes in the medium temperature range of 150–400 °C. Hot air is widely used as a process medium in several industrial processes, such as drying, curing, and cooking. Although steam, pressurized water, and thermal oil are widely used heat …

Published at Solar Energy – Effects of aperture configurations on heat losses in concentrated solar power systems: An experimental study for a semi-cylindrical cavity receiver

Abstract: This study presents a comprehensive experimental investigation into the convective heat losses of a semi-cylindrical cavity receiver, a geometry that holds considerable promise but has been inadequately explored in the context of parabolic trough concentrated solar power systems. The research systematically examines the impact of key operational and geometric parameters, including inclination angle, input …

Rethinking Pressurized Gases for Fresnel Solar Receivers

The background For decades, gases have been largely overlooked as heat-transfer fluids in concentrated solar receiver systems, mainly due to their poor heat transfer capability and the high pumping power required. Early research on gaseous heat transfer fluids in solar receivers relied on air at atmospheric pressure in volumetric receivers. Although technically feasible, these systems …