Concentrating solar power (CSP) is a rapidly advancing technology. It has the potential to provide short- and long-duration energy storage in the form of heat to supply renewable electricity on-demand. The carbon-free heat generated by CSP can also be used to drive high temperature processes for production of renewable hydrogen, fuels, or commodity chemicals, as well as to potentially facilitate water desalination, mineral purification, or biorefining.

CSP works by concentrating sunlight onto a receiver that collects the solar energy and converts it to heat, which can be used to power a turbine for electricity, “charge” a thermal storage system for production of electricity off-sun, or to drive a chemical reaction. Current CSP facilities operate at temperatures in the range of 500 – 600 °C, but next generation plants are aiming for temperatures of ≥ 700 °C for electricity generation and as high as 1000°C for solar thermochemical processes. The requirement for high temperature operation requires materials that can withstand heat and thermal expansion, are resistant to oxidation and corrosion, and can efficiently conduct heat. Coatings are necessary for receivers to maximize absorption or enhance durability. Thermal storage materials with improved stability and storage capacity are required. Materials development is imperative to perform solar thermochemical reactions such as water splitting, fuel production, and desalination.

This symposium aims to promote CSP within the materials science and engineering community and to bring together researchers of diverse backgrounds (experimental, characterization, analysis, and computational) to address the multidisciplinary challenges of this emerging field. Graduate students, post-docs, and early-career researchers are encouraged to submit abstracts. The symposium is expected to draw participation and support from a national and international demographic from academia, national labs, and the commercial sector.

coating corrosion energy generation energy storage in situ modeling renewable thermal stresses