A Newcastle venture using breakthrough CSIRO solar thermal technology to reduce industrial emissions has raised $15 million, claiming the biggest ever seed funding round for a CSIRO spinout.
Announced on Tuesday, the venture dubbed FPR Energy uses Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) technology to create and store energy for high temperature industrial processes.
Based on decades of CSIRO research on the underlying technology, commercialisation holds promise for areas like steel making, chemical production and minerals refinement.
Around 20 per cent of Australia’s carbon footprint is attributed to industrial emissions and certain high temperature processes are especially hard to abate.
FPR Energy plans to use the seed funding to establish a 50 megawatt thermal demonstration plant to prove the tech can work at scale and then expand in to other high-solar regions like the US and Middle East.
Japanese utility operator Osaka Gas and resources investor RFC Ambrian are partnering on the commercialisation push, with the latter having already partnered with the CSIRO on several mining technologies.
The three partners account for the entire $15 million funding.
CSIRO’s CST technology has been developed in Newcastle over decades and FPR Energy’s particular solution has spent around six years in the lab.
It uses ceramic particles to store sunlight as heat. Researchers last year hit 803°C for the first time and said the tiny particles were holding heat for up to 15 hours.
As the particles cool, they release the energy, offering a way to provide power from renewable energy as needed, even at night and during periods of low solar and wind output.
FPR Energy says it is now reaching up to 1200°C and the stored energy can power industrial processes directly or generate electricity through a steam turbine.
“FPR Energy is building on years of solar thermal research, demonstrating CSIRO’s commitment to supporting emissions reduction using impact-focussed science and technology,” CSIRO’s energy technologies research director Dr Daniel Roberts said.
“Diversifying the way we harness Australia’s abundant solar resources will help develop a low-carbon economy and support economic growth and job creation in the Hunter region.”
The new venture plans to develop a 50 megawatt thermal demonstration plant, with up to 16 hours of integrated thermal energy storage but is yet to announce a timeline or site.
FPR Energy is built on CSIRO’s particle receiver technology research program, which was developed through the Australian solar Thermal Research Institute, with support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
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