New solar panels may prove to be a breakthrough for industry and agriculture.
Industry and academia are working together to build a cost-effective concentrated solar thermal (CST) demonstrator that aims to transform Australia’s industrial heat sector by reducing its reliance on fossil fuels.
Using lightweight plastic mirrors to focus sunlight and create the necessary heat for industrial processes, the University of South Australia (UniSA) has partnered with Impacts Renewable Energy Pty Ltd and Charles Sturt University (CSU) on this clean energy project.
The project, funded by the Federal Government’s Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA) Ignite program, will fabricate and install a novel, two-module CST demonstrator incorporating the mirrors. These mirrors, created through patented UniSA technology, offer an affordable and easily transportable alternative to traditional glass-based solar thermal systems. They generate heat that can be used directly in industrial processes or to heat water to create steam to power a turbine and produce electricity.
The project’s first phase will see two full-scale models, each made up of 16 thermoformed and coated panels, constructed, installed, and tested at CSU’s “Vineyard of the Future.” The panels incorporate a multilayer aluminum-silica reflective coating developed by UniSA’s Future Industries Institute, applied via physical vapor deposition to ensure durability and optimal solar reflectivity.
Unlike conventional solar thermal systems that require heavy infrastructure to support fragile glass mirrors, this new system features Impacts’ durable, lightweight plastic mirror panels that can be flat-packed, transported, and assembled with ease.
The goal is to generate solar thermal energy at temperatures between 100°C and 400°C, ideal for processes such as food production, grain and pulse drying, sterilizing, solar desalination, mining sites, polluted groundwater remediation, and wastewater treatment.
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Project Leader Dr Marta Llusca Jane.
