The Powder2Power project aims to demonstrate at the MW-scale (TRL7) the operation of an innovative, cost effective and more reliable complete fluidized particle-driven Concentrated Solar Technology that can be applied for both power and industrial heat production. The prototype to be developed and tested is based on the modification and the improvement of an experimental loop built in the framework of the previous H2020 project Next-CSP. It will include all the components of a commercial plant, a multi-tube fluidized bed solar receiver (2 MWth), an electricity-driven particle superheater (300 kW), a hot store, a particle-to-working fluid cross-flow fluidized bed heat exchanger (2 MWth), a turbine (hybrid Brayton cycle gas turbine, 1.2 MWe), a cold store and a vertical particle transport system (~100 m). It is planned to organize the experimental campaign at the Themis tower (France) during one year. Adding an electricity-driven particle superheater will enable to validate a PV-CSP concept working at 750°C that is expected to result in electricity cost reduction with respect to the state-of-the-art. At utility-scale, this temperature allows to adopt high efficiency conversion cycles, typically 750°C for supercritical CO2 (sCO2) cycles. The expected increase in conversion efficiency (sun to power) of the P2P solution with respect to molten salt technology is in the range 5 to 9% and the cost reduction is 5.4%. (LCOE). The hybrid CSP-PV concept enables to reach 9% in efficiency increase and the CSP-only concept 5%. The proposed approach includes the sustainability assessment in environmental and socio-economic terms. A special attention will be brought to elaborate in a transparent way all documents necessary to ensure replicability, up-scaling and to assist future planning decisions. Ten participants from 6 EU countries constitute the P2P consortium. Six participants are industrial and service companies, and four are public research institutions and universities.

The main objective of the SOLPART project is to develop, at pilot scale, a high temperature (950°C) 24h/day solar process suitable for particle treatment in energy intensive industries (e.g. cement or lime industries). The project aims at supplying totally or partially the thermal energy requirement for CaCO3 calcination by high temperature solar heat thus reducing the life cycle environmental impacts of the process and increasing the attractiveness of renewable heating technologies in process industries. This will be achieved by the demonstration of a pilot scale solar reactor suitable for calcium carbonate decomposition (Calcination reaction: CaCO3 = CaO + CO2) and to simulate at prototype scale a 24h/day industrial process (TRL 4-5) thereby requiring a high-temperature transport and storage system. The system will operate at 950°C and will include a 30 kWth solar reactor producing 30 kg/h CaO and a 16h hot CaO storage. Life cycle environmental impacts of the solar-based solution in comparison with standard processes will be developed as well as economic evaluation. The project develops and merges three advanced technologies: high temperature solar reactor, transport of high-temperature solid materials and high temperature thermal storage. The synergy between these technologies lies in using the solar-treated particles as storage medium. The development of a such innovative technology for continuous particle processed by concentrated solar energy at about 950°C is unique in the world. Thanks to the solar unit integration in the industrial process (potentially combined with CO2 capture), this should result in the considerable reduction of the carbon footprint of the CO2 emitter industries and open a new market for renewable energies.

According to the Integrated Roadmap of the Set-plan, and to reach the new EU target of 27% of renewable energies in 2030, there is the need to rapidly expand the use of all renewable energy sources in Europe to accelerate the fight against global climate change. This requires the acceleration of development of new options that are emerging today, particularly, technologies that solve the key issue of energy storage. The next-CSP Project is a response to this need and addresses significant improvements in all three elements targeted by the LCE-07-2016 call related to concentrated solar power: heat transfer fluids, which can be used for direct thermal energy storage; the solar field; and high temperature receivers allowing for new cycles. The proposed fluidized particle-in-tube concept is a breakthrough innovation that opens the route to the development of a new generation of CSP plants allowing high efficiency new cycles (50% and more) and 20% improvement of CSP plant efficiency. The Next-CSP technology that cumulates the know-how acquired during the CSP2 FP7 EU project on the particle-in-tube technology can be rapidly cost-competitive and introduced in the market. A cost reduction by 38% is expected with respect to current CSP electricity cost. The project will demonstrate at industrial pilot scale (TRL5) the validity of the particle-in-tube concept atop the Themis facility solar tower. A 4-MWth tubular solar receiver able to heat particles up to 800°C will be constructed and tested as well as the rest of the loop: a two-tank particle heat storage and a particle-to-pressurized air heat exchanger coupled to a 1.2 MWel gas turbine. A commercial scale power plant (150 MWel) will also be designed on the basis of experimental and simulation results and associated costs assessed. The consortium includes 6 companies that will lead the development of the first worldwide demonstration of this innovative technology and pave the way for future commercial exploitation.