The HIFLEX (“HIgh Storage Density Solar Power Plant for FLEXible Energy Systems”) proposal has the ambition to develop and demonstrate a complete pre-commercial flexible CSP prototype plant featuring cheap solid particles as storage and heat transfer medium. Operation of the thermal storage system over a temperature span of 700°C results in a 2.5x higher storage density and 50% lower cost. During the project a complete pre-commercial solar tower system will be developed and built. The system will be located at a Barilla pasta plant in Foggia, Italy, with the following components: a 20 MWh thermal storage able to provide 800 kWth for 24h, innovative solar particle receiver with 2.5 MWth peak power, heliostat field with about 6000m² of mirror area, a 620°C particle steam generator, a 100 kW electric heater and a 800 kW fuel heater. Fast ramping steam generation at 620°C enabling grid balancing will be demonstrated. The renewable-fuel heater ensures weather-independent availability. Further support of grid stability is achieved by using excess or cheap power from the grid to charge the storage for time-shifted electricity production (power-to-heat-to-power). Continuous long-term operation for 18 months will be conducted to prove the performance. The project aims to verify the technical maturity of the technology for market introduction. Based on the experience from the pre-commercial prototype, the cost reduction potential for a 100 MWe solar tower plant will be validated, as well as the least-cost mix of renewables (PV, wind power, CSP, storage capacity, power-to-heat capacity, renewable fuel) for the future commercial application at Barilla as CHP system will be evaluated. A business plan will be developed for fast market introduction of the technology. The project will provide a strong showcase, as basis for the exploitation activities to create new market opportunities, reduce market barriers and build confidence into the technology.

COMPASsCO2 aims to integrate solar energy into highly efficient supercritical CO2 Brayton power cycles for electricity production. Concentrated solar radiation is absorbed and stored in solid particles and then transferred to the s-CO2. In COMPASsCO2, the key component for such an endeavor shall be validated in a relevant environment: the particle-s-CO2 heat exchanger. To reach this goal, the consortium will produce, test, model and validate tailored particle-alloy combinations that meet the extreme operating conditions in terms of temperature, pressure, abrasion and hot oxidation/carburization of the heat exchanger tubes and the particles moving around/across them.