BRIGHTSOURCE INDUSTRIES ISRAEL LTD

Their core work

BrightSource Industries is a concentrated solar power (CSP) technology company that develops and deploys solar thermal tower systems for utility-scale power generation. Within H2020 projects, they contribute as an industry partner bringing real-world CSP plant operational experience, particularly around materials durability, thermal energy storage, and water management challenges that affect plant economics and reliability. Their participation spans the full lifecycle of CSP technology — from the materials science of solar receivers (RAISELIFE) to advanced thermochemical storage cycles (PEGASUS) to solving the critical water consumption problem that limits CSP deployment in arid regions (SOLWARIS).

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

BrightSource's H2020 participation shows a logical progression from fundamental CSP challenges toward operational sustainability. Their earlier projects (2016) tackled core technology barriers — materials lifetime and advanced storage cycles — while the later entry (SOLWARIS, 2018) shifted toward a plant-level operational problem: water consumption, which is a major deployment barrier in the sun-rich but water-poor regions where CSP makes most sense. This trajectory suggests a maturing technology provider moving from "make it work" to "make it deployable at scale."

BrightSource is moving from core CSP component R&D toward solving deployment-blocking operational challenges, signaling readiness for commercial-scale plant optimization projects.

How they like to work

BrightSource participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator, which is typical for an industrial company contributing domain expertise and test infrastructure rather than managing research programs. With 33 unique partners across 11 countries in just 3 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia — averaging 11+ partners per project. This suggests they are comfortable in multi-national research environments and valued for their specific industrial CSP knowledge rather than project management capacity.

Despite only 3 projects, BrightSource has built a broad European network of 33 partners across 11 countries, indicating involvement in large-scale consortia with research institutions and industrial players across the CSP and renewable energy value chain.

What sets them apart

BrightSource brings something rare to European CSP research consortia: hands-on operational experience from one of the few companies globally that has built and operated commercial-scale solar tower plants. While most consortium partners contribute laboratory research or simulation expertise, BrightSource can validate findings against real plant conditions. For consortium builders, they offer an industry endpoint that grounds research in commercial reality — particularly valuable for Innovation Actions where TRL advancement and market relevance are assessed.

Highlights from their portfolio

• RAISELIFE
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 1.46M) and directly addresses the materials degradation problem that is one of the biggest cost drivers in CSP plant economics.
• SOLWARIS
  Tackles the water-energy nexus for CSP — a critical deployment barrier in arid regions where solar thermal plants are most viable but water is scarce.
• PEGASUS
  Explores a thermochemical sulphur-based storage cycle, an unconventional alternative to molten salt storage that could reduce CSP costs significantly.