About CST
Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) is an umbrella term that refers to any technology in which solar energy is concentrated to provide high-temperature heat. CST technologies consist of a concentrator and a receiver, where the concentrator is used to concentrate (i.e., focus) solar energy onto the receiver and thereby make the receiver hot. Conceptually, CST can be understood as using a magnifying glass (i.e., the concentrator) on a sunny day to burn a leaf (i.e., the hot receiver). However, lenses tend to be expensive, and in practice, most CST technologies use relatively low-cost mirrors as the concentrator. The receiver is specifically engineered to deliver “green” heat for some useful purpose. In theory, the “green” heat produced by CST can substitute for the “brown” heat delivered by the combustion of fossil fuels in any process. Thus, CST can be an important enabling technology to decarbonize the energy sector and increase energy security by replacing imported brown fossil-fuel energy supplies with solar-derived green heat.
The green heat delivered by CST can be used for:
◆ Electricity
Solar Thermal Electricity (STE) / Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies use CST-generated green heat to drive a heat engine to produce electricity. Specifically, today’s commercial STE power plants generate clean electricity by replacing the brown heat produced by the combustion of fossil fuels with the green heat created by CST.
◆ Heat
Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP) uses CST-generated green heat to replace the brown heat from the combustion of fossil fuels to decarbonize and green industrial processes. Sample SHIP applications include drying, chemical, cement, metallurgical, water treatment, and desalination processes.
◆ Fuels
CST can drive chemical reactions to produce sustainable synthetic fuels such as hydrogen to replace fossil fuels across a diverse set of sectors including transportation (e.g., aviation and maritime).
For more information on CST technologies and activities, please visit the following websites:
CST4ALL is a follow-up to the European Union (EU) Horizon 2020 HORIZON-STE project. The website includes STE fact sheets, videos, and project outputs.
EERA-JP-CSP is the European Energy Research Area Joint Programme on CSP. EERA-JP-CSP has the overall objective to integrate and coordinate the scientific collaboration among the leading European research institutions in CSP in line with the STE-EII the SET-Plan.
SFERA III is a Horizon 2020 project coordinated by CIEMAT-PSA, and includes 15 partners from 9 EU member countries. The 9,103 M€ project, running from January 2019 to December 2023 will reinforce the sustainability of the activities of the European advanced Concentrated Solar Power research infrastructures.
ESTELA, the European Solar Thermal Electricity Association, is a European Industry Association created in 2007 to support the emerging European solar thermal electricity industry for the generation of green power in Europe and abroad, mainly in the Mediterranean region. ESTELA involves and is open to all main actors in Europe and abroad: promoters, developers, manufacturers, utilities, engineering companies, and research institutions.
The German Association for Concentrated Solar Power (DCSP) advocates the generation and use of electricity, heat, and fuel from concentrated solar technologies. In dialogue with politics and administration, the DCSP represents the interests of the members and supports them with targeted press and public relations work. The industry association bundles the strengths and interests of the German market participants and thus increases market opportunities in Germany and worldwide.
The Spanish Association for the Promotion of the Solar Thermal Industry (PROTERMOSOLAR) was founded in 2004 with the aim of promoting the development of the Spanish solar thermal industry through the expansion and development of solar thermal technology both in Spain and in the rest of the world.
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101075408. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
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