Imagine replacing heavy steel-and-glass solar mirrors with a giant inflatable tube made of plastic film — like a bouncy castle that catches sunlight. That's exactly what HELIOtube does. The tube is 220 meters long, ships rolled up in a standard container, and you just inflate it on-site. It focuses sunlight 100 times over, heating fluid to 400–600°C to drive steam turbines — all at roughly half the cost and 40% less carbon than traditional concentrated solar power systems.
Conventional concentrated solar power plants rely on heavy steel-and-glass collectors that are expensive to manufacture, costly to transport, and require intensive on-site construction — driving up both capital costs and carbon footprint. This makes CSP less competitive against photovoltaics and fossil fuels, especially in emerging solar markets where logistics infrastructure is limited.
The project built and demonstrated two up-scaled inflatable solar concentrators made from recyclable plastic films, deployed at a pilot site in Spain. A complete CSP system was installed and commissioned, including validation of the transport-in-a-container and inflate-on-site logistics chain.
If you are a CSP developer struggling with the high capital cost of parabolic trough or tower systems — HELIOtube developed inflatable plastic film collectors that deliver 55% cost savings compared to the best future parabolic trough technologies. The collectors concentrate light by a factor of 100 and reach 400 to 600°C, sufficient for industrial steam turbines. Two up-scaled units were built and demonstrated in Spain.
If you are an industrial heat supplier looking for cheaper ways to generate high-temperature process heat — this project demonstrated a pneumatic solar concentrator that heats thermal fluid to 400–600°C while cutting CO2 by 40% versus conventional CSP. The collectors are manufactured from commercially available recyclable plastic films using a fully automated roll-to-roll process, making scale-up straightforward.
If you are an EPC firm dealing with complex logistics for solar installations — HELIOtube ships rolled up in a standard container and is inflated on-site, drastically simplifying transport and installation. The demo in Spain included in-field testing of transport and installation logistics. This means fewer cranes, less heavy equipment, and faster project timelines compared to steel-and-glass trough systems.
According to the project data, HELIOtube delivers 55% cost savings compared to the best future parabolic trough technologies. This comes from eliminating steel and glass in favor of commercially available recyclable plastic films manufactured by fully automated roll-to-roll processes.
The full-scale commercial HELIOtube is designed at 220m long with a 9m diameter. Two up-scaled units were produced and demonstrated in Spain, including a full CSP system installation and commissioning. The project was specifically aimed at qualification necessary for commercialization.
HELIOVIS AG, an Austrian SME, holds the patents and innovative know-how on the collector technology. Any licensing or partnership discussions would need to go through HELIOVIS AG as the coordinator and IP holder.
The HELIOtube concentrates light by a factor of 100 and heats thermal receiver fluid to 400 to 600°C. This is sufficient to provide steam to turbines for electricity generation or high-temperature industrial process heat.
The rolled HELIOtube ships in a standard container and is inflated at the installation site. The Spain demo included in-field testing of transport and installation logistics, validating the simplified deployment process. This eliminates the heavy crane work and complex assembly of steel-and-glass systems.
The project claims a 40% CO2 reduction compared to the best future parabolic trough technologies. The collectors use recyclable plastic films instead of energy-intensive steel and glass, and the lightweight design reduces transport emissions.
This is a lean, all-industry consortium of 3 SMEs across Austria, Germany, and Spain — no universities or research institutes, signaling a purely commercial focus. HELIOVIS AG (Austria) leads with the core patents and technology, MachtWissen (Germany) brings wind protection engineering and solar thermal component expertise, and the Spanish partner provides the demo site location. The 100% industry ratio and SME-2 funding scheme confirm this is a market-driven project aimed directly at commercialization, not academic research.
HELIOVIS AG is an Austrian SME holding the HELIOtube patents. Contact their business development team for licensing or partnership discussions.
Want an introduction to the HELIOtube team? SciTransfer can arrange a direct meeting with HELIOVIS AG to discuss licensing, partnership, or deployment opportunities for your solar energy project.
