How to help invent the transition to a decarbonized world

How to help invent the transition to a decarbonized world – research work in concentrated solar. Lina Hockaday and colleagues at Stellenbosch University attending the 2017 SolarPACES Conference Work in concentrated solar research is one rewarding way to help invent the transition to a decarbonized world SolarPACES talks to concentrated solar energy researchers at various …

Vast Solar and Mabanaft successfully secured AUD $40 million funding for the development of the CSP-powered solar methanol plant, SM1

Vast Renewables Limited, a company specializing in concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) energy systems that generate zero-carbon, utility-scale electricity and industrial process heat, announced funding agreements of up to ~AUD $40 million for its solar methanol plant, SM1, in partnership with Mabanaft. The funding, including support from Australian and German governments, aims to advance green …

Two CSP studies quantify a trade-off between solar efficiency and LCOE

Vast Solar is one of the few commercial firms numbering-up modules in CSP. Efficiency or LCOE: which is more important to reduce the cost of Gen-3 CSP systems? A pair of related papers from ANU in Australia compare the value of efficiency versus Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems. The …

Vast and Nabors Energy Transition Corp. Announce Closing of Business Combination, Establishing Public Concentrated Solar Power Company

Vast Renewables Limited (“Vast” or the “Company”), a renewable energy company specialising in concentrated solar thermal power (“CSP”) energy systems that generate zero-carbon, utility-scale electricity and industrial process heat, today announced the completion of its business combination (the “Business Combination”) with Nabors Energy Transition Corp. (“NETC”), an affiliate of Nabors Industries Ltd. (“Nabors”) (NYSE: NBR). …

EDF Australia makes EUR-10m capital commitment to Concentrated Solar Power developer Vast

The Australian unit of French energy major EDF has committed EUR 10 million (USD 10.8m) to Australian concentrated solar power (CSP) specialist Vast Renewables Ltd, with the companies planning to partner to develop CSP projects in Australia, Vast said on Friday. The capital commitment is contingent on closing Vast’s go-public merger with Nabors Energy Transition …

Next-gen green hydrogen tech splits water using concentrated solar power

An Australian company has successfully demonstrated its green H2 production tech prototype. Sparc Hydrogen has announced the successful testing of its prototype photocatalytic water-splitting reactor, a water-splitting green hydrogen tech that uses concentrated solar as an alternative to the conventional electrolysis method. The prototype was demonstrated at a CSIRO facility in Australia. The successful test …

Generating and storing sustainable energy is the holy grail

Transmission lines have fallout. Battery farms are expensive. Repeating Snowy II is out of the question.  But there is a simple solution to generating and storing sustainable energy for overnight electricity. And country businesses are taking it on themselves to prove its powerful potential. The Vast Solar Concentrated Solar Thermal storage and power generation plant …

Elevating the Potential of Concentrated Solar Power Heat Storage in Australia

The future of sustainable energy in Australia lies in finding cost-effective solutions to generate and store electricity overnight. The need for reliable energy sources in rural areas and the impending retirement of coal-fired power stations create an urgent demand for alternatives. While wind farms and lithium-ion batteries have their limitations, solar thermal heat storage is …

Future looks bright for Concentrated Solar Power as decarbonisation focus shifts beyond 2030

A new report from the Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute shows that concentrated solar power has a major role to play in cost-effectively decarbonising electricity, industry and fuels over the short- and long-term. Image: CSIRO October 2023 may prove to be a turning point in Australia’s energy transition. For the first time, I heard broader …