A new ceramic composite material makes the production of solar energy cheaper: study

Mechanical tests and corrosion tests have shown that the composite material could be adapted to successfully withstand the higher temperature of new heat exchangers. (Image Source: Purdue University)

Scientists have developed a material that can be used to harvest electricity from the heat of the sun, paving the way for cheaper solar power generation in cloudy weather and at night. Innovation is an important step in placing solar energy production in direct cost competition with fossil fuels, researchers said.

"Storing solar energy in the form of heat can already cost less than energy through batteries. reduce the cost of producing electricity from the heat of the Sun with the added benefit of zero greenhouse gas emissions, "said Kenneth Sandhage, a professor at Purdue University in the United States. -United. Concentrating solar power plants convert solar energy into electricity by using mirrors or lenses to focus a large amount of light onto a small area, generating heat that is transferred to a molten salt.

The heat of the molten salt is then transferred to a working fluid, supercritical carbon dioxide, which expands and rotates a turbine to produce electricity. To make solar electricity cheaper, the turbine engine would have to produce even more electricity for the same amount of heat, which means the engine has to run hotter. The problem is that the heat exchangers, which transfer heat from the hot molten salt to the working fluid, are currently made of stainless steel or nickel-based alloys that become too flexible at the desired higher temperatures and high pressure. supercritical carbon dioxide.

Researchers designed a composite of ceramic zirconium carbide and metallic tungsten for more robust heat exchangers. They created ceramic-metal composite plates. The plates contain customizable channels to adapt the heat exchange.
Mechanical tests and corrosion tests have shown that the composite material could be adapted to withstand supercritical carbon dioxide at high temperature and high pressure necessary to produce electricity more efficiently Exchangers.

An economic badysis also showed that large scale manufacturing of these heat exchangers could be performed at a cost comparable to or lower than that of stainless steel or nickel alloy heat exchangers. "Ultimately, with continued development, this technology would enable large-scale penetration of renewable solar energy into the grid," said Sandhage. "That would mean dramatic reductions in human-induced carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation," he said.

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