Symposium FH
Concentrating Solar Thermal: Materials and Technology Challenges and Opportunities
Co-Chairs:
Diego MARTINEZ PLAZA, EU SOLARIS, Spain
Daniela FONTANI, CNR-National Institute of Optics, Italy (Convener)
Members:
Renkun CHEN, University of California, San Diego, USA
Ramon ESCOBAR GALINDO, Sevilla University, Spain
Andrej LENERT, University of Michigan, USA
Martin ROEB, German Aerospace Center, Germany
Laura SCHAEFER, Rice University, USA
Dileep SINGH, Argonne National Laboratory, USA
Ted STEINBERG, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Aldo STEINFELD, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Luca TURCHETTI, ENEA, Italy
Judith VIDAL, NREL, USA
Zhifeng WANG, IEE-CAS, China
Guangdong ZHU, NREL, USA
Diego MARTINEZ PLAZA, EU SOLARIS, Spain
Daniela FONTANI, CNR-National Institute of Optics, Italy (Convener)
Members:
Renkun CHEN, University of California, San Diego, USA
Ramon ESCOBAR GALINDO, Sevilla University, Spain
Andrej LENERT, University of Michigan, USA
Martin ROEB, German Aerospace Center, Germany
Laura SCHAEFER, Rice University, USA
Dileep SINGH, Argonne National Laboratory, USA
Ted STEINBERG, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Aldo STEINFELD, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Luca TURCHETTI, ENEA, Italy
Judith VIDAL, NREL, USA
Zhifeng WANG, IEE-CAS, China
Guangdong ZHU, NREL, USA
The list of Invited Speakers will be available at the end of July 2025
Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST) technology is the focus of intense research and development activities worldwide due to its potential in generating renewable energy and decarbonising industrial processes and it is expected to contribute significantly to future sustainable energy mix.
As a renewable source of electricity, CST uses the energy generated by concentrated solar radiation to power a steam or a gas turbine; or else, the heat produced can be appropriately stored for off-sun electricity generation at a lower cost than traditional batteries utilized in PV systems. Moreover CST can be used for the production of hydrogen, fuels or chemicals by high temperature “green” processes and for decarbonation of industrial cycles.
A main challenge for increased system efficiency is to achieve operating temperatures (currently up to - 600 °C) to exceed 1000 °C which implies increased demands on structural materials and coatings for their thermomechanical and chemical stability, reliability and lifetime. Moreover, advances in functional properties in optical materials for absorbers and reflectors are critical for efficiency improvements and cost reductions. Heat-resistant materials with higher stability and storage capacity and appropriate thermal transport properties are required for thermal storage systems, whereas improved materials are on demand to drive small-scale thermochemical reactions such as water splitting, hydrogen and fuel production, and for industrial decarbonation.
This symposium aims to bring together experts of diverse backgrounds to present latest research results and debate challenges, ongoing developments and perspectives for competitiveness, efficiency, reliability and safety of CST technology in its broad application fields.
As a renewable source of electricity, CST uses the energy generated by concentrated solar radiation to power a steam or a gas turbine; or else, the heat produced can be appropriately stored for off-sun electricity generation at a lower cost than traditional batteries utilized in PV systems. Moreover CST can be used for the production of hydrogen, fuels or chemicals by high temperature “green” processes and for decarbonation of industrial cycles.
A main challenge for increased system efficiency is to achieve operating temperatures (currently up to - 600 °C) to exceed 1000 °C which implies increased demands on structural materials and coatings for their thermomechanical and chemical stability, reliability and lifetime. Moreover, advances in functional properties in optical materials for absorbers and reflectors are critical for efficiency improvements and cost reductions. Heat-resistant materials with higher stability and storage capacity and appropriate thermal transport properties are required for thermal storage systems, whereas improved materials are on demand to drive small-scale thermochemical reactions such as water splitting, hydrogen and fuel production, and for industrial decarbonation.
This symposium aims to bring together experts of diverse backgrounds to present latest research results and debate challenges, ongoing developments and perspectives for competitiveness, efficiency, reliability and safety of CST technology in its broad application fields.
Session Topics
FH-1 Developments in concentrators and heat collecting elements
Reflectors, absorbers, receivers, mirrors, coatings, high-temperature construction and isolation materials; advances in materials synthesis, processing and characterization; components design and manufacturing, novel coating deposition methods, surface modification…
FH-2 Thermal energy storage materials, media and systems
PCMs, TCMs, sensible heat storage materials
FH-3 Solar production of hydrogen, fuels and chemicals
Metal oxide-based redox materials, catalysts, Sulfur-based and Cu-Cl cycles…
FH-4 Solar thermal methods and materials for decarbonization of industrial processes
FH-5 Computational modelling and high throughput data screening of novel structural and functional materials for CST technology
FH-6 Advanced in-situ and ex-situ testing of materials and components (mechanical, thermal, optical, corrosion, stability, durability, aging…)
FH-7 CST prospects in a rapid changing and competitive energy world