Australian solar thermal specialist Vast Renewables will look to accelerate the development of its concentrated solar power technology after securing a $16.37 million (€10 million) capital commitment from French energy giant EDF Renewables.
Vaast Renewables has announced that it will partner with EDF Renewables to deliver several long-term storage and green fuel projects in Australia, incorporating Vaast’s concentrated solar power (CSP) technology that captures solar energy before generating heat. Receivers use mirrors to concentrate and capture heat from the sun. Dispatchable power during the day or night.
The Sydney-based developer said its CSP 3.0 technology allows the plants to be configured with four to 16 hours of storage and generators of up to 500 megawatts, making them suitable for utility-scale power, industrial heat and clean fuel production applications. , provides dispatchable renewable energy.
Vaast founder Jonny Kahlbetzer said EDF’s capital commitment, which is subject to a number of conditions including Vaast completing a NASDAQ listing through a merger with a United States special purpose acquisition company, is a milestone in the company’s 14-year journey. “Fantastic” is verification.
Vaast Chief Executive Officer Craig Wood said the partnership will bring together Vaast’s CSP 3.0 technology and EDF’s track record of developing, designing, delivering and operating clean energy projects.
“As one of the world’s largest energy utilities, EDF operates gigawatts of renewable projects and has world-leading expertise in the use of sodium as a heat transfer fluid,” he said. “We look forward to working with EDF Australia to deliver long-term storage and green fuel projects.”
Vaast’s proprietary CSP technology relies on mirrors to concentrate and capture heat from the Sun in solar receivers. The heat is then transferred through liquid sodium and stored in the molten salt. The stored energy can be used to heat water to drive a turbine and create steam to produce electricity, or the heat can also be used directly to decarbonize some industrial processes.
This technique is on display at Gemalong in regional New South Wales, where a 1 MW pilot plantThe project, which was constructed adjacent to a 50 MW solar PV project, has been delivering electricity to the grid since early 2018.
Vaast is also developing a 30-MW plant with eight hours of full-load storage near Port Augusta in South Australia.
VS1 project Seeks to demonstrate the technical and operational performance of Vaast’s modular CSP technology at utility scale. The grid-connected facility is expected to be operational in 2025. Vaast will also build a 7,300 tonne per year green methanol plant next door that will be partially powered by a 30 MW plant.
EDF Australia country manager James Katsikas said the partnership with Vaast is in line with the company’s plans. Portfolio of Clean Energy Projects across Australia and said the group is uniquely positioned to accelerate the commercialization of cutting-edge technologies such as Vaast’s CSP 3.0 technology.
“With our knowledge and experience, we are well equipped to successfully execute multiple projects within the clean-energy value chain,” he said.
“We look forward to collaborating with Vaast and believe this arrangement has the potential to accelerate the country’s transition toward clean energy production and consumption.”
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