INTECSOL
Title: Technological innovations to improve the viability of concentrating solar thermal plants
Acronysm: INTECsol
CIEMAT contact person: Gema San Vicente Domingo (gema.sanvicente@ciemat.es); Aránzazu Fernández-García (arantxa.fernandez@psa.es); Antonio Ávila Marín (antonio.avila@ciemat.es); Lourdes González Martínez (lourdes.gonzalez@ciemat.es)
Funding agency: Ministry of Science and Innovation. Call “Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento 2021. (PID2021-126664OB-I00)
Partners: CIEMAT
Period: 01/09/2022 - 31/08/2026 (4 years)
CIEMAT Budget: 217,800 €
Background: The current market situation stablishes two dominant concentrated solar thermal (CST) technologies, the well-known and mature parabolic-trough collectors (PTC), and solar tower (ST) systems. However, the new generation of the CST plants requires technological innovations for improving its feasibility either reducing cost and/or increasing efficiencies.
Objectives: The INTECsol project focuses its R&D activities in the main solar components of a CST plant, the solar reflector and the receiver (for both PTC and ST systems), with the analysis and development of new components, and the implementation of improved materials and updated component features. These activities are aimed at improving efficiency and reducing costs.
The project focuses its actions on the two key sub-systems of any concentrating solar thermal plant: the solar reflectors in the solar field, which reflect and direct solar radiation, and the receiver, which receives the solar radiation.
In the case of reflectors, two actions are proposed:
Action 1: the improvement of the overall performance of solar reflectors of any concentrating solar thermal plant through the study and application of new anti-soiling (AS) coatings in real operating conditions, the development of a corrosion prediction system with the aim of evaluating and anticipating the operation of the solar field, and the study and analysis of the degradation mechanisms due to ultraviolet radiation, in combination with environmental temperature and humidity.
Action 2: the study of a self-aligned heliostat for CRS where the size of each facet with respect to the total area will be analysed to reduce mechanical stress and thus increase its useful life
In the case of receivers, three ambitious actions are proposed:
Action 3: The development of new selective and non-selective coatings for tubular receivers in CRS.
Action 4: The thermal and hydrodynamic optimization of a commercial metal mesh volumetric receiver for CRS, as well as the study of the influence of a selective coating and the analysis of its implementation in a plant layout.
Action 5: The study of soiling and new anti-soiling coatings on the entire section of the glass cover of parabolic trough collectors.
The implementation of the proposed technological innovations will help Spain meet the commitments made with the European Union and which are reflected in the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) 2021-2030, increasing the viability of these technologies.