R&D Focus of DLR in the field of CSP

Kurzfassung

DLR Research in the field of CSP focusses on tower technology that can drive high pressure steam cycles requiring upper temperatures in excess of 650°C and even up to 1000°C (compared to 550°C today) using alternative heat transfer media to increase the efficiency and reduce costs. Detailed studies performed by DLR showed that they are capable of achieving annual net solar-to-electric efficiencies of more than 20 % (compared to 15–17% today) and can integrate thermal storage very efficiently, thus representing a breakthrough towards the above mentioned challenges. The alternative heat transfer media that will be investigated are salt mixtures, solid particles and liquid metals. Their application in large technological systems is far beyond the scientific state-of-the-art. Research aims to create engineering know-how on system and component design, optimized performance, control, safety and scale-up aspects, as well as materials selection and degradation analysis. The impact of environmental conditions in desert areas on the life time and efficiency of solar tower systems and their components operating at very high temperature is the second research focus. In this context, also the question of how to monitor the condition of a full solar plant with high accuracy is addressed.