Update on the ASTRI High-Temperature Solar Sodium Facility

Abstract

The Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute (ASTRI) has been developing technologies designed to collect and store solar energy at high-temperature to drive more efficient power cycles, or for providing heat to high-temperature thermal industrial processes. ASTRI is pursuing two alternative pathways: one is based on the use of liquid sodium as a heat transfer fluid, and the other is based on the use of solid fluidous particles. The current work describes ASTRI’s completion of the design and construction of a nominal 1MW high-temperature solar sodium test facility, which will be operational at CSIRO’s solar field at the National Energy Centre in Newcastle, Australia, by 2024.