Under coordination by Kelvion (Bochum, www.kelvion.com), a total of twelve partners — within the context of the project MinWaterCSP, for minimized water consumption in concentrated solar power plants (CSP) — will develop solutions to reduce the consumption of water in CSP plants and increase the cost-effectiveness of such plants. European, Moroccan, and South African partners — including Enexio Deutschland GmbH (Herne, Germany; www.enexio.com) and Kelvion Thermal Solutions of South Africa — are taking part in this research and demonstration project. This venture began in January of 2016 and is being supported by the E.U. within the context of the Horizon 2020 Program.
The goals of this consortium include reduction by 75 to 95 % of evaporation in small and large CSP plants, compared to wet cooling systems. Cleaning of the mirrors also offers potential cost savings. As a result, several approaches are being pursued in parallel: implementation of a hybrid cooling system (dry-wet), development of new heat exchanger components and of innovative and more efficient axial fans, the development of optimized mirror-cleaning systems, as well as improved water management for the entire facility. The objective here will be optimized efficiency of a CSP plant with reduced water consumption. Solutions to achieve these goals will be developed during the coming three years and tested at three locations in southern Spain, Morocco, and South Africa. The purpose of the MinWaterCSP project is to increase the competitiveness of concentrated solar power plants, to make the technology more attractive for investors.
The MinWaterCSP project partners, in alphabetical order, are as follows:
Ecilimp Thermosolar SL (Spain)
Enexio Germany GmbH (Germany)
Fraunhofer ISE (Germany)
Institut de Recherches en Energie Solaire et Energy Nouvelles (IRESEN; Morocco)
Kelvion Thermal Solutions Pty Ltd. (South Africa)
Laterizi Gambettola SRL (Italy)
Notus Fan Engineering (South Africa)
Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
the Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum of Steinbeis Innovation gGmbH (Germany), Universita Degli Studi di Roma la Sapienza (Italy)
Waterleau Group NV (Belgium)
Kelvion Holding GmbH (project coordinator)
As part of the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program of the E.U. (www.horizont2020.de), MinWaterCSP is being supported under Funding Agreement no. 654443.