Concentrating Solar Power (CSP)—Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Advanced Concept Development and Demonstrations

This paper highlights recent developments in utility scale concentrating solar power (CSP) central receiver, heat transfer fluid, and thermal energy storage (TES) research. The purpose of this review is to highlight alternative designs and system architectures, emphasizing approaches which differentiate themselves from conventional solutions. The push for increased efficiency and compatibility with high-temperature power cycles has driven the development of advanced receiver concepts utilizing various heat collecting media. Published work can be grouped into three technologies like US Department of Energy Gen3 CSP pathways: liquid, gas, and solid receivers, each with TES approaches ideally suited for system integration. Most experimental work has focused on material property investigation, with few system-level validations at meaningful scales. Innovative solutions utilizing advances in design, materials, and manufacturing are being pursued to realize advanced CSP-TES systems. Of those concepts built and tested, demonstrations have shown promise and remain topics of active development. With continued development, these systems can offer alternative pathways towards low-cost, dispatchable electricity production.