Solar Thermal Power Plants

In sunny regions, solar thermal power plants (concentrated solar power, CSP) with large thermal storage systems supply electricity on demand. Together with our partners from industry, project developers, researchers and public institutions , we are working to further improve materials, coatings, components, collectors and systems in order to increase efficiency and reduce manufacturing costs.

In 2020, Fraunhofer ISE presented a calibration and control system for heliostat fields based on digital image processing. This allows the aim points of many heliostats to be determined during operation in a time- and cost-efficient manner for the first time. With a newly developed reflector coating for secondary mirrors in tower power plants, we are optimizing the quality and service life of components.
Thermal storage systems also offer great opportunities to make industrial processes more efficient and energy flows more flexible. In addition to specific storage solutions and energy efficiency measures, we are working on integrating solar process heat into the heat supply of industrial processes. We have developed a publicly available online tool for a quick techno-economic assessment and presented it in workshops.
Another focus of our work is the efficient conversion and transfer of heat. For our research on materials and components, we have in-depth expertise in materials science, component design, characterization and testing methods, modelling and simulation as well as plant control and system development. We can draw on many years of experience from projects for applications in solar thermal power plants and in various branches of industry.