The Powder2Power project aims to demonstrate at the MW-scale (TRL7) the operation of an innovative, cost effective and more reliable complete fluidized particle-driven Concentrated Solar Technology that can be applied for both power and industrial heat production. The prototype to be developed and tested is based on the modification and the improvement of an experimental loop built in the framework of the previous H2020 project Next-CSP. It will include all the components of a commercial plant, a multi-tube fluidized bed solar receiver (2 MWth), an electricity-driven particle superheater (300 kW), a hot store, a particle-to-working fluid cross-flow fluidized bed heat exchanger (2 MWth), a turbine (hybrid Brayton cycle gas turbine, 1.2 MWe), a cold store and a vertical particle transport system (~100 m). It is planned to organize the experimental campaign at the Themis tower (France) during one year. Adding an electricity-driven particle superheater will enable to validate a PV-CSP concept working at 750°C that is expected to result in electricity cost reduction with respect to the state-of-the-art. At utility-scale, this temperature allows to adopt high efficiency conversion cycles, typically 750°C for supercritical CO2 (sCO2) cycles. The expected increase in conversion efficiency (sun to power) of the P2P solution with respect to molten salt technology is in the range 5 to 9% and the cost reduction is 5.4%. (LCOE). The hybrid CSP-PV concept enables to reach 9% in efficiency increase and the CSP-only concept 5%. The proposed approach includes the sustainability assessment in environmental and socio-economic terms. A special attention will be brought to elaborate in a transparent way all documents necessary to ensure replicability, up-scaling and to assist future planning decisions. Ten participants from 6 EU countries constitute the P2P consortium. Six participants are industrial and service companies, and four are public research institutions and universities.

HYBRIDplus:Advanced HYBRID solar plant with PCM storage solutions in sCO2 cycles. HYBRIDplus aims to pioneer the next generation of CSP with an advanced innovative high-density and high-temperature thermal energy storage (TES) system capable of providing a high degree of dispatchability at low cost and with much lower environmental burden than the State of the Art. This thermal storage is based in the Phase Change Material (PCM) technology in a cascade configuration that can reproduce the effect of a thermocline and integrates recycled metal wool in its nucleus that provide hybridization possibilities by acting as an electric heater transforming non-dispatchable renewable electricity such as PV into thermal stored energy ready to be dispatched when needed. HYBRIDplus proposes a novel approach to concentrated solar power with a PV+Cascade PCM-TES CSP configuration based on a high temperature supercritical CO2 cycle working at 600 ºC. This new plant is called to form the backbone of the coming energy system thanks to a higher efficiency and lower LCoE than state-of-the-art technology, and in addition to other benefits such as full dispatchability reached with the hybridization in the storage that allow higher shares of variable output renewables in the energy system and environmental friendliness (lower CO2 emissions, minimum water consumption, enhancement life cycle impact).

According to JRC CSP platform, with an increased efficiency of component and price reduction, 11 % of EU electricity could be produced by CSP by 2050. In the EC energy strategy, CSP finds mention as a potential dispatchable RES thus increasing potential market/need for CSP if coupled with flexible, high performant and low CAPEX power conversion units. In this sense sCO2 has been worldwide studied for several years as enabling technology to promote CSP widespread. SOLARSCO2OL presents sCO2 cycles as key enabling technology to facilitate a larger deployment of CSP in EU panorama which is composed (also considering available surfaces and DNI) by medium temperature application (most of them Parabolic trough – Tmax = 550°c) and small/medium size plants enhancing their performances (efficiency, flexibility, yearly production) and reducing their LCOE. Considering that compared to organic and steam based Rankine, sCO2 cycles achieve high efficiencies over a wide temperature of range of heat sources with lower CAPEX, lower OPEX, no use of water as operating fluid (a plus for arid CSP plants area), smaller system footprint, higher operational flexibility, SOLARSCO2OL would like to demonstrate in Evora Molten Salt platform facility the first MW Scale EU sCO2 power block operating coupled with a MS CSP. SOLARSCO2OL will capitalize previous EU expertise (SCARABEUS, sCO2-flex, MUSTEC), bridging the gap with extra-EU countries R&D on these topics and studying different plant layouts also to enhance CSP plants flexibility to enable them to provide soon grid flexibility services. SOLARSCO2OL is driven by an industry oriented consortium which promotes the replication of this concept towards its complete marketability in 2030: this will be properly studied via scale up feasibility studies, environmental and social analysis encouraging business cases in EU (particularly in Italy and Spain as two of the most promising EU CSP countries) and Morocco thanks to MASEN.

SHARP-sCO2 aims to put the basis to develop a new generation of high efficient and flexible CSP plants. Keeping on working on CSP-sCO2 power cycles and exploiting air as operating fluids also developing novel enabling technologies (receiver, storage etc.), SHARP-sCO2 will attain high working temperatures, guaranteeing reliable and flexible operation, optimal working conditions and high efficiency for the coupling of CSP with sCO2 power cycle thanks to the development of high performant sCO2-air heat exchanger. Leveraging on a smart and integrated hybridization with PV, enabled by the development of an innovative electric heater, SHARP-sCO2 will maximize the production, exploiting PV affordability while counting on the unique energy storage capabilities of CSP plants via thermal media. The latter will be also optimized by developing an innovative high temperature thermal energy storage. SHARP-sCO2, by means of a material selection process driven by environmental and economic criteria and aimed at maximizing the circularity of the solution, will lead also to lower LCOE/CAPEX for future CSP. Developing and validating in EU top level laboratories (IME, KTH, TUD) key cycle components (receiver, storage, HEXs, electric heater) SHARP-sCO2 will prove the effectiveness and techno-economic viability of air-driven/sCO2 CSP cycles. Four prototypes will be investigated in a cross-fertilizing lab campaign (TRL5) also to validate partners’ modeling approach to robustly study cycle integration (via a ”cyber-physical approach”). Taking into account EU/extra-EU solar irradiation, electric market perspectives, environmental, safety/regulation aspects too, the project, which involves EU R&D leaders in CSP sector, will be the first keystone towards the promotion of air-driven/sCO2 cycles as key solution for EU CSP plants targeting 2030 EU targets. The project will assess the holistic impact of SHARP-sCO2 also proposing R&D roadmaps to TRL 9 and market uptake of project innovation.