Fraunhofer Chile to develop a solar concentration system to recycle aluminum

The project, which will be carried out by researchers from Fraunhofer Chile with support from the Crea y Valida Fund of the government agency CORFO, proposes to develop and validate a solar thermal concentration system, capable of reaching and maintaining temperatures that allow the smelting of aluminum for its recycling. “We have designed a compact, …

Registration open for September: SFERA-III Doctoral Colloquium and Summer School

𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟰𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗔-𝗜𝗜𝗜 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 11 – 15 September 2023 Focus topic summer school: Smart CSP: how smart tools, devices and software can help improve the design and operation of concentrating solar power technologies. DLR Cologne / Hybrid event The doctoral colloquium is open to SFERA-III members, while the …

US DOE funds Synhelion to scale up its solar thermal hydrogen

Solar hydrogen is a component of the thermochemical solar fuels that Synhelion is developing commercially, such as aviation fuel Synhelion’s proprietary solar receiver is capable of temperatures above 1,500°C to perform thermochemistry to manufacture a variety of solar fuels such as jet fuel for aviation The solar thermal green hydrogen technology beginning to be commercialized …

China’s 51% renewable energy target was achieved early

With 51% renewable energy, China’s 50% renewable target for 2025 has been achieved in 2023 China’s 51% renewable target has been achieved two years earlier than projected – in 2023, earlier than 2025 – Reuters  BEIJING, June 12 (Reuters) – China’s non-fossil fuel energy sources now exceed 50% of its total installed electricity generation capacity, …

Spain’s auctions need a CSP quota say engineering experts

The synchronous generators driven by steam turbines in solar thermal power plants have the intrinsic primary frequency regulation capacity needed now CSP engineers tour Abengoa’s Cerro Dominador solar thermal energy project in Chile during construction The COIIM (Official College of Industrial Engineers of Madrid) considers it essential to launch as soon as possible an auction …

US DOE announces $135 million industrial decarbonization awards

40 Projects Across 21 States Will Advance Technologies to Decarbonize American Industry and Help Create Good-Paying Jobs WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $135 million for 40 projects that will reduce carbon pollution from the industrial sector and move the nation toward a net-zero emissions economy by 2050 by advancing key …

Chile’s 2023 auction will incentivize dispatchable CSP

Solar thermal energy with storage like the Cerro Dominador Tower CSP in Chile (pictured) will be more competitive in the first auction to incentivize dispatchable renewables like CSP    IMAGE@Grupo Cerro Major changes for Chile’s next auction include incentives for energy storage and non-variable renewables like CSP, a splitting of the auction into three geographic zones …

Heliogen gets first solar thermal hydrogen customer: City of Lancaster, CA

Heliogen’s most recent iteration of its heliostats – to be square Press Release: Heliogen Collaboration to decarbonize America’s “First Hydrogen City” through Heliogen’s patented breakthrough CST technology PASADENA, Calif. & LANCASTER, Calif. (June 6, 2023) —Heliogen, Inc. (“Heliogen”) (NYSE: HLGN), a leading provider of AI-enabled concentrating solar energy, today announced the execution of a definitive contract …

Rocks: The Unexpected Powerhouse of Sustainable Solar Energy Storage

Granite and soapstone tested for thermal storage in Tanzania Source: Sci Tech Daily  The future of sustainable energy storage might be found in commonplace materials such as rocks, specifically soapstone and granite, in combination with solar power, according to a study published in ACS Omega. The next generation of sustainable energy technology might be built from …

Spain now needs CSP for grid stability – study

Despite a renewable capacity of 2.6 times peak demand, Spain’s intermittent renewables do not provide grid needs for operating reserves and frequency stability, so they have not displaced conventional fossil technologies IMAGE#Cerro Dominador CSP project: CSP with thermal energy storage can replace gas power plants Source: EVWind Each MW of solar thermal power can replace …