Imagine a giant magnifying glass that tracks the sun, but instead of moving the pipe that carries the heat, only the mirror moves. This keeps the heat-carrying liquid in one long, steady line, which stops leaks and saves money. It also uses a special salt that stays hot for a long time, acting like a giant thermal battery for the grid.
Traditional parabolic trough plants suffer from high heat losses, expensive flexible piping, and significant wind-load stress on structures, which increases both CAPEX and OPEX.
A fix-focus parabolic trough system with a detached absorber tube, biodegradable sandwich mirrors, and an automatic water-recycling washing device.
If you are an IPP dealing with high operational costs and energy loss in solar fields — this project developed a fix-focus parabolic trough that increases annual electrical output by 24.5% and reduces solar field costs by 30%. It allows for dispatchable power at 555°C using molten salts.
If you are a glass manufacturer dealing with fragile and inefficient solar mirrors — this project developed biodegradable thin-glass sandwich mirrors that increase optical efficiency by 2% due to better reflectivity.
If you are an O&M provider dealing with high water consumption and dust-related efficiency drops — this project developed an automatic mirror washing device that recycles about 90% of washing water and increases performance by 4%.
It eliminates collector connection piping and all flexible connections in the solar field. Additionally, wind loads are reduced by 75%, allowing for lighter and cheaper steel structures, pylons, and foundations.
The project involves erecting and testing a 350m-collector with an aperture of 6.7m using molten salt at the EMSP.
Based on available project data, specific IP or licensing terms are not mentioned; however, the project involves a consortium of 7 partners including 3 industrial entities.
The project is testing and optimizing an 'overnight drainage strategy' specifically to eliminate heat losses during the night.
The project period runs from 2023-10-01 to 2027-11-30, with major demonstration results expected closer to the end of the project.
The consortium is well-balanced for commercialization, featuring a 43% industry ratio with 3 industrial partners and 4 SMEs. The collaboration spans 5 European countries (DE, ES, FR, IT, PT), combining the academic oversight of Universidade de Évora with practical research and industrial manufacturing capabilities.
Contact Universidade de Évora regarding the MSA-Trough consortium
Contact SciTransfer to connect with the MSA-Trough industrial partners for early adoption.
