A system is to be developed in the newly launched ‘HybridKraft’ project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection and headed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. The hybrid combination of concentrated solar power plants, photovoltaics and storage promises cost-effective and stable electricity generation. The project focus is on developing an electric heater for a molten salt storage tank that is suitable for large-scale power plants. Such solutions which convert renewable electricity into high-temperature heat for direct use or storage are also interesting for industrial applications. The electric heater is tested in closed-loop ...

Australian cleantech company Vast Solar, a world-leader in concentrated solar thermal power (CSP), and the Solar Methanol Consortium have been selected to receive AUD$19.48m and EUR13.2m from a collaboration between the Australian and German Governments to develop a world-first green methanol demonstration plant, SM1 in Port Augusta, South Australia. The German-Australian Hydrogen Innovation and Technology Incubator (known as HyGATE) is a funding round with up to AUD$50m and EUR50m available to support real-world pilot, trial and demonstration projects along the hydrogen supply chain. It plays a key role in supporting the growth of the clean energy ...

The energy crisis and decarbonising the heating sector – Concentrating solar thermal technology ready for efficient use in Germany. Concentrating solar thermal systems are still little known in Germany, although they are a highly efficient approach to producing heat from solar energy. In such a system, specialised mirrors arranged in different geometries are used to focus the Sun’s rays on a defined area, such as a circle or a line. This heats a heat transfer medium, which then flows through a heat exchanger. Concentrating solar thermal power plants, which are today primarily located within Earth’s sunbelt, use this heat ...