In the hands of scientists – the power of 10,000 Suns

Solar research at PSI takes a leap into the future today with the opening of the High-flux Solar Simulator. With this new instrument scientists will be able to carry out experiments under extremely high temperatures, independent of the weather.


The Laboratory for Solar Technology at PSI and the Professorship in Renewable Energy Carriers at ETHZ are jointly conducting research in high-temperature thermo-chemical processes to efficiently transform concentrated solar energy into storable and transportable chemical fuels.

In the new Solar Simulator the light from ten xenon arc lights is reflected on ellipsoidal reflectors and the concentrated energy delivered by this installation can reach power fluxes of 10,000 suns, (1 sun = 1 kW/m2) providing temperatures of up to 2500 degrees Celsius for experiments.

Research will focus on the development of solar reactor technology required for the production of fuels (e.g. hydrogen, zinc and syngas) and for the processing of energy intensive material commodities such as lime and metals.

Media Contact

Juanita Schlaepfer-Miller alfa

More Information:

http://psi.ch

All latest news from the category: Power and Electrical Engineering

This topic covers issues related to energy generation, conversion, transportation and consumption and how the industry is addressing the challenge of energy efficiency in general.

innovations-report provides in-depth and informative reports and articles on subjects ranging from wind energy, fuel cell technology, solar energy, geothermal energy, petroleum, gas, nuclear engineering, alternative energy and energy efficiency to fusion, hydrogen and superconductor technologies.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

New model of neuronal circuit provides insight on eye movement

Working with week-old zebrafish larva, researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and colleagues decoded how the connections formed by a network of neurons in the brainstem guide the fishes’ gaze. The…

Innovative protocol maps NMDA receptors in Alzheimer’s-Affected brains

Researchers from the Institute for Neurosciences (IN), a joint center of the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), who are also part of…

New insights into sleep

…uncover key mechanisms related to cognitive function. Discovery suggests broad implications for giving brain a boost. While it’s well known that sleep enhances cognitive performance, the underlying neural mechanisms, particularly…