One of the hindrances of solar energy has long been that current solar panel technology cannot produce the very high temperatures needed to power industrial processes such as making cement, glass or steel.
California-based Heliogen might soon change all of that. The startup has been working secretly on a solar "oven" that can generate temperatures over 1,000 degrees Celsius. Based on CSP (concentrating solar power), this oven sees hundreds of solar mirrors redirect sunlight toward a steam turbine.
The energy from the sun superheats water into steam that generates power. By finding a powerful backer—Bill Gates—Heliogen is committed to improve CSP technology.
Once Heliogen can produce temperatures of 1,500 degrees Celsius, it could produce an immediate zero-carbon alternative for heavy industries. This is not negligible when considering cement production alone accounts for a sizable amount of all carbon emissions.
In 2015, for example, the cement industry emitted 2.8 billion tons of carbon, accounting for 8% of all global emissions. This dwarfs that of the airline industry (2.5%) and almost rivals the emissions from agriculture (11%).
Without innovations to make its production cleaner, the impact of cement to greenhouse gases is unlikely to drop, especially since global use of cement is actually accelerating. The international concrete and cement market grew at an average pace of 7% from 2014 to 2018, and is estimated to speed up to 11% a year through 2022, boosted by the housing demand and low-interest rates for mortgages in developed countries.
Various ways have been suggested to lower the emissions from cement such as using cleaner, alternative materials in its production, making more efficient cement kilns or powering them with biofuels. But Heliogen's advances are still one of the more notable advances.
The potential of Heliogen made headlines in November 2019 when it was announced that Bill Gates was investing in the startup. In recent years, Gates has been a patron for potential game-changing energy projects, including a hefty investment in Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which is making strides in nuclear fusion and also boasts backing from Eni.
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