Researchers have developed a solar cell system that uses mirrors to concentrate solar energy. In addition to electricity, it produces heat for a plant that will capture carbon from industrial emissions. The solar cells in the large pilot plant are a full 5 meters high and consist of many mirrors that are angled toward the solar cells to concentrate sunlight. They make it possible to collect the sun’s rays into concentrated solar energy, as well as heat that supports a plant designed to capture CO2.
“The system has been tested and validated. It is quite innovative and unique and stands out by storing heat in addition to the electrical current,” says SINTEF research scientist Alfredo Sanchez Garcia.
The energy from the plant will be used to capture carbon from industrial emissions.