Chromasun, Australian Research Associates Receive Grant for Solar Research

Chromasun, developer and manufacturer of rooftop solar modules, declared that it has won $3.2 million applied research award from Australian Solar Institute (ASI) by associating with a number of research institutions in Australia.

The grant is given to enable the company to formulate a Micro Concentrator (MCT) module to generate solar electricity and high temperature solar thermic heat.

The ASI grant amounting $3,235,710, will sustain the applied research by Chromasun along with its associates such as the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the Australian National University (ANU) and Commonwealth Scientific Research Organization (CSIRO). The total research project involving over $9.4 million investment is aimed at producing a hybrid type of Chromasun MCT module that can simultaneously generate solar power as well as 150°C thermal heat. The high level 150°C temperature, while providing the required industrial development heat also enables solar cooling at reduced costs. The solar receiver utilized in the process will deploy a spectral splitting process to thermally separate the PV cells from the circulating fluid with 150°C temperature thus allowing the receiver to seize high value heat while allowing the solar PV cells in cool and efficient condition.

The Chromasun MCT, utilized for the research is a low-weight, low-visibility solar collector with reflective type of aluminum mirrors that are designed to focus the received sunlight 25 times better than the normal modules. The reflective mirrors that track the movement of the sun all through the day for increased energy collection are kept in an encapsulated cover to protect them against vagaries of weather conditions. The MCT has no outside moving parts and can be fixed over a conventional racking system. The product is undergoing beta tests in a number of solar project sites all over the world.