ECOSTAR: European concentrated solar thermal road-mapping

• Forschungsstelle: EU FRP
• Projektnummer: 03.0092
• Projekttitel Englisch: ECOSTAR: European concentrated solar thermal road-mapping

Schlüsselwörter (Englisch)

none

Alternative Projektnummern (Englisch)

EU project number: 502578

Forschungsprogramme (Englisch)

EU-programme: 6. Frame Research Programme - 1.6.1 Urspr. Progr. Sustainable energy systems

Kurzbeschreibung (Englisch)

See abstract

Weitere Hinweise und Angaben (Englisch)

Full name of research-institution/enterprise:
ETH Zürich
Department of mechanical and process engineering
Institute of Energy Technologie

Abstract (Englisch)

The European Union has adopted the potential of Concentrating Solar Thermal Power (CSP) to contribute significantly to the achievement of a truly sustainable energy system in the medium-to-long term in Europe. Thus, the EC currently supports the implementation of three pilot solar thermal power plants. Besides continuous implementation of this technology, cost targeted innovation approaches are needed to achieve cost-competitiveness of this technology in the medium-to-long term. Up to now a variety of different and competing approaches have been promoted by the fragmented research base in Europe. The major objectives of the ECOSTAR co-ordinating action are:
- To identify the European innovation potential with the highest impact on CSP-cost reduction,
- to focus the European research activities and the national research programs of the partners involved onto common goals and priorities,
- and to broaden its basis of industrial and research excellence, capable to solve the multidisciplinary CSP specific problems.
High level commitment of six large research centres from Germany (DLR), Israel (WIS), France (CNRS-IMP), Spain (CIEMAT), Switzerland (ETH) and Russia (IVTAN) each with long-year experience in the subject and most of them conducting a significant program on concentrating solar technologies and operating their own facilities, express the readiness to combine their national expertise to achieve these goals. This group has teamed-up with the international association of power and heat generation (VGB PowerTech), which includes many of the European players in the power sector, to ensure by an independent industry assessment, that the identified innovation pathways are feasible from an industry perspective, to disseminate them to the power sector, and to support the identification of further expertise needed.

Datenbankreferenzen (Englisch)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 03.0092