EU-Project SFERA-III

Project Website: external page SFERA III
Funding Source: external page H2020
Project Leader: Dr. Brendan Bulfin

Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST) power is a very promising renewable energy resource. So far, the best known application is electricity generation using thermodynamic cycles, but other applications have also been demonstrated, such as production of solar fuels, water treatment and research in advanced materials. Europe is a leader in R&D of this CST technology.

This EU-funded research project – SFERA-III - aims to boost scientific collaboration among the leading European research institutions in solar concentrating systems, offering European research and industry access to the best research and test infrastructures and creating a virtual European laboratory. The project incorporates the following activities:

• Transnational Access: SFERA-III is providing access to fifteen (15) state-of-the-art CST Research Institutes, unique in the world, and a total of forty-seven (47) installations. They allow academic and industrial Users to conduct excellent research and also qualify commercial prototypes in many areas including but not limited to; solar thermal electricity generation, thermal energy storage, CSP optical systems, solar fuel production and solar water treatment. At the Professorship of Renewable Energy Carriers, we are making available our high flux solar simulator (HFSS) and our chemistry laboratory (CHEM). Further details and the application portal for use of these facilities, among many others within SFERA-III consortium, can be found on the external page project website.
  
• Networking: These include the organisation of training courses and schools' to create a common training framework, providing regularised, unified training of young researchers in the capabilities and operation of concentrating solar facilities. Communication activities will seek to both strengthen relationships within the consortium, creating a culture of cooperation, and to communication to society in general, academia and especially industry what SFERA is and what services are offered.
  
• The Joint Research Activities (JRA) aim to improve the quality and service of the existing infrastructure, extend their services and jointly achieve a common level of high scientific quality. ETHZ is leading JRA3 Dynamic control and diagnostics of integrated systems for the production of solar fuels. This work package is focused on developing high-performance diagnostic and dynamic control tools for solar thermochemical fuel production system using concentrated solar energy.