Heavy industries pose a challenge to Australia’s decarbonisation efforts – could a new concentrated solar thermal technology be the solution?
Heavy industries account for 44 per cent of Australia’s end use energy, and a significant portion of these stem from processes such as minerals processing, steelmaking and alumina refining that require fossil fuels to generate high-grade heat1.
Without a viable alternative source of high-grade heat, decarbonising these hard-to-abate sectors has proven a huge challenge to Australia’s net zero journey.
However, a new concentrated solar thermal (CST) technology could change the game, significantly reducing the emissions of Australia’s heavy industries.
What is CST?
CST technology uses mirrors – known as heliostats – that concentrate sunlight to a targeted location to create high temperatures.
The heat harnessed from CST can be used directly in industrial processes or to generate electricity, by heating water for steam to turn a turbine and generate power.
One of the key benefits of solar thermal technology is the embedded energy storage, which enables consistent and reliable energy, even when solar radiation isn’t available. When taking this longer duration storage into account, CST becomes significantly more cost competitive than variable renewables with battery energy storage.
This is particularly true for heat applications, which makes it such a great option for heavy industries.
Historically, however, CST technologies have been unable to generate heat of a high enough temperature on their own to replace fossil fuels.
New kid on the block
Though CST has been in the spotlight in Australia recently, the idea dates back to the 1800s. In the early 2000s, CST was popular because of its ability to provide instantaneous power generation at a lower cost than solar PV.
FPR Energy Interim CEO, Dougal Adamson, said after some industry learnings and the growth of mass manufacturing in China, attention shifted to solar PV, which had become much cheaper.
Today, with a greater emphasis on energy storage and a push to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors, it’s no surprise that attention has shifted back to CST.
It’s great timing for FPR Energy, which officially launched in November 2024.
The company was co-founded by CSIRO and established as a venture to implement the next generation of CST technology. It is supported by $15 million in seed funding from global advisory and funds management firm, RFC Ambrian, and utilities leader, Osaka Gas.
What sets FPR Energy apart from others in the space is the CSIRO-developed particle receiver technology, capable of producing temperatures up to 1,200°C – an industry first.
The technology captures solar energy using heliostats to heat inert ceramic particles. The particles store energy for on-demand industrial heat or electricity generation creating a continuous, efficient, energy cycle.
It’s FPR Energy’s aim to use this technology to reduce emissions in hard-to-abate sectors.
“Emissions intensive industries that require high-grade heat to decarbonise have previously been unable to use just CST as a heat source because they weren’t able to deliver the intense temperatures required,” Mr Adamson said.
“For example, molten salt CST systems are limited to a maximum temperature of about 550°C. Our particles have been proven at 850°C and could readily achieve 1,200°C and potentially even higher.”
This means hard-to-abate industries can use particle-based CST to generate renewable, zero emissions high-grade heat for their operations, which could accelerate Australia’s decarbonisation.
Additionally, because of its inbuilt storage, the new technology is also much more cost-effective.
“CST generates direct heat, whereas if you use wind or solar, you also need to overlay the capital cost of heating equipment, which is unproven at scale for high-grade heat and comes at an additional cost that simply isn’t required for solar thermal.
Next steps
FPR Energy’s next move is to scale the technology.
“We’ll be demonstrating a large-scale, high-grade heat exchanger prototype using particles, and we’ll also be demonstrating a large-scale, full-sized receiver,” Mr Adamson said.
At the same time, FPR Energy will also be developing a 30-50MW receiver demonstration with up to 16 hours of integrated thermal energy storage, which aims to prove the viability of the technology at a commercial scale. Once scaled, the technology could potentially be expanded to other regions with abundant solar, such as North America, South America and the Middle East.
A local project
The particle-based CST technology was developed by CSIRO at its Energy Centre in Newcastle. The high-temperature solar thermal research facility is the only one of its kind in Australia and is home to the largest high-concentration solar array in the Southern Hemisphere.
FPR Energy will remain in Newcastle, with the company headquartered at CSIRO’s Energy Centre.
The region has a large industrial base which is advantageous in several ways.
“Every single component – other than the glass used in the mirrors – can be fabricated in Newcastle. It can all be designed, engineered, fabricated and sampled right here,” Mr Adamson said.
“The existing prototype system was made locally.”
Additionally, the company doesn’t have to look far to find the skills they need to scale and develop the technology.
“From fabricators to engineers to other suppliers, the labour force we’re after can be found locally. A lot of the skills we need are replacing legacy fossil fuel industries, and we can also leverage some of the workforce from the solar PV industry.”
Small particles, big impact
Particle-based CST offers a unique opportunity to unlock renewable heat as a green fuel source for hard-to-abate sectors. However, like with any new technology, getting industry to take risk on early project demonstrations can sometimes be difficult.
“We are seeing industry traction and some government support, too. However, it could be a lot quicker. The biggest hurdle we need to overcome is around risk aversion,” said Mr Adamson.
“From a technology risk perspective, there is significantly lower risk with particle-based CST. The particles are completely inert, non-corrosive and safe to handle. They don’t require any special training and are a common bulk material that can be sourced off the shelf.”
Mr Adamson said the technology offers the opportunity to build a solar thermal tower that – within two years – will deliver heat at a fixed cost, cheaper than gas and with zero emissions.
With widespread adoption, particle-based CST holds the key to decarbonising hard-to-abate industries, slashing Australia’s emissions.
For more information, visit fprenergy.com.au
