Technology

Over 100 years ago, suspension bridges vastly increased the span and reduced the material consumption and manufacturing costs for bridge technology. The SOLABOLIC®patented parabolic trough can do the same for the concentrated solar power (CSP) industry.

SOLABOLIC® parabolic trough RD01

Advantages over best performing state-of-the-art technology:

1. For electricity production: 10% Energy yield increase per aperture area

2. In addition to the energy yield increase per aperture area: 20% more efficient land-use (less land required for the same aperture area)

3. The above-mentioned two advantages mean that with the same solar field land area, about 32% higher electrical energy yield could be generated

4. In case of combining the parabolic troughs with PV: 75% increase of Energy Generation Intensity (EGI), which makes the land-use of RD01 with PV the most efficient among all solar technologies, including photovoltaic and concentrated solar power technologies.

SOLABOLIC® reduces costs in 5 ways:

1.    40% fewer components: Its unique design can handle higher wind loads than all other parabolic trough technologies. Thus, SOLABOLIC® realizes apertures larger than its competitors, and can further reduce costs by reducing component count per unit energy.

• Fewer heat collector elements (HCE)

• Fewer drives and swivel joints

• Fewer sensors and controls

2.    Flexible mirrors: Flexible glass strips replace expensive parabolic preformed glass mirrors, achieving:

• Reduced cost

• Reduced weight

• Increased local content (can be produced worldwide)

3.    Simpler assembly:

• Replace the construction hall with a temporary assembly area

• Reduced training requirements

4.    Increased local content: By avoiding complex and high-tech machining, mounting, or assembly processes, SOLABOLIC® maximizes the utilization of local resources and manpower (local content), especially for the emerging markets and developing economies, providing the following benefits:

• Lower labor costs

• Lower shipping costs

• Lower import costs (taxes and duties)

• Increased political support (i.e. job creation)

5.    Enables to track PV modules with the same equipment of the parabolic trough. This increases the efficiency of applications that combine thermal energy with electrical energy (For example, in case of electricity production: Hybridize with PV, with PV providing cheap power during daylight hours, and CSP being used to provide the energy for cheap storage to be released and delivered as electricity in the evening and nights).

SOLABOLIC® patented technology is available for licensing.