Fraunhofer ISE and Fraunhofer CSET Enter Second Round for the Chilean Institute for Clean Energy Technologies

The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Technologies FCR-CSET and the CSIRO Mining Center in Santiago de Chile have successfully passed the first proposal round for the new Chilean institute for clean energy technologies. In the first application phase, many international consortiums entered proposals for the Chilean clean tech institute, stating their interest in the ten year program and outlining the potential focus of the new institute from their point of view. The submitted concepts were evaluated by a technical committee and rated on a point scale. In all, seven international consortiums submitted a Request For Interest (RFI) in May 2019. The RFI submitted by the Fraunhofer consortium was one of three to receive an outstanding rating.

Centro para Tecnologías en Energía Solar
© Angelini Innovation Center
Centro para Tecnologías en Energía Solar (FCR-CSET) in Santiago, Chile.

With this success, the Fraunhofer consortium now enters the second round of proposals in mid-July. By November, the consortium must submit a complete proposal to the Chilean economic development agency CORFO.

The objectives of the ten year program are:

  • To develop new materials and innovations around lithium, nitrate salts and other materials in the supply chain for thermal and electrical energy storage and green technologies
  • To develop competitive solar energy technologies for generating electricity and process heat and also for water treatment for extreme desert climates with the involvement of local companies along the value chain
  • To develop, implement and transfer sustainable and low emission technologies for electric mobility and sustainable industries up to 2030, especially zero-emission fuels for mining applications, solar power as the main energy source in mining, process innovations and increased use of solar thermal energy
  • To train at least 100 highly skilled workers in these fields
  • To acquire support from at least 100 company initiatives and/or start-up companies related to the institute’s fields of activity as well as to create an environment of innovation and entrepreneurship that increases the location attractiveness in this area

Founded in 2015, the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Technologies CSET of the Fraunhofer Chile Research Foundation FCR is located in Santiago de Chile. Serving as a center of excellence for solar energy, it is financially sponsored by the Chilean economic development agency CORFO in order to further expand solar activities in Chile. About 50 scientists from Fraunhofer ISE and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile carry out research in the Center, concentrating primarily on solar systems and operational optimization in many different applications.

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