| Energy
Car mirror technology to streamline solar energy
production
Technology used to develop the world’s first fully plastic
automotive mirror is being adapted in South Australia to
make solar energy generation more efficient.
delaide-based car
parts manufacturer
Precision
Components has
partnered with the
University of South
Australia to today launch a
heliostat test bed north of
Adelaide.
The trial field includes 25
heliostats each measuring 7.2
square metres and a 16-metre-tall
concentrated solar photovoltaic
(PV) receiver, which can generate
about 30 kW of electricity per hour.
Heliostats concentrate sunlight
onto a tower, and depending on
the type of receiver unit, either
heat molten salt to generate steam
to power turbines to generate
electricity or convert sunlight
directly into electricity using a high
efficiency solar cell receiver.
The heliostat innovations hope
to deliver more reliable and
efficient energy production.
It is not the first time the
University of South Australia’s
Future Industries Institute has
partnered with industry to
commercialise its world-leading
thin film coating technology.
The group of researchers
partnered with SMR Technologies,
a car mirror manufacturer in
Adelaide’s southern suburbs, to
commercialise the world’s first fully
plastic auto mirror in 2012. About 4
million of the mirrors, which are
much lighter and do not shatter in
a crash unlike their glass
counterparts, have since been
sold around the globe.
A
Lead researcher and Industry
Professor at UniSA’s Future
Industries Institute, Peter Murphy
said the design challenges in
developing a heliostat surface that
could stand up to a range of
environmental factors echoed
some of the challenges in
designing the car mirror.
“Heliostats need to withstand
heat, cold, rain, UV light exposure
and abrasion by sand, often in
harsh, arid environments,” Prof
Murphy said.
“To be really effective they must
have a lifetime of 25 to 30 years
and that presents a huge set of
challenges at a macro and nano
scale.
“Our long term research goal is
to develop tough, ultra-high
reflectivity mirror coatings on
polycarbonate to underpin lighter,
more efficient heliostats that stay
cleaner for longer.”
South Australian Premier Jay
Weatherill, who officially opened
the solar trial field, said the
partnership with the university and
the new site helped show the
state’s leadership in the national
transformation to renewable
energy technologies.
“Working in partnership with
Precision Components, a
company previously servicing the
automotive industry, the two
companies demonstrate
successful diversification from a
manufacturing skill base into other
industry sectors,” he said.
This next generation solar
power technology will be vital to
34 | Farming Monthly | November 2017
the development of renewable
power sources in Australia and
internationally.
The Edinburgh trial field, about
30km north of Adelaide, is the
result of three years of research,
development and manufacturing of
the heliostats following the
formation of Heliostat-SA, majority
owned by Precision Components,
in 2014.
Adelaide-based Precision
Components has been a leading
Australian component
manufacturer for the automotive
industry for more than two
decades.
The launch comes at an
important time for the company,
which is transforming its business
following the decline of Australia’s
car manufacturing industry.
Automotive manufacturing
officially ends next week with the
closure of Holden’s Elizabeth plant
just a few kilometres from the solar
field.
Precision Components has also
partnered with Bustech to form
Precision Buses. That joint venture
last year secured $2 million in
South Australian Government
funding to manufacture advanced
diesel and electric buses on the
same site as the heliostat field.
Last year the company and
Heliostat-SA, which shares the
premises, manufactured 150
heliostats for a solar project in
Yokohama, Japan.
“This is another significant step
in the diversification strategy we
implemented to safeguard the
future of the business and to
create employment opportunities
for South Australians,” Precision
Components Director Mat Fitch
said.
Under the solar trial joint
venture, Heliostat-SA designs and
manufactures solar energy
technologies for both the
concentrated solar power and PV
tracking industry sectors.
While the heliostats at the trial
field are made of traditional glass,
the researchers are working on
adapting South Australian thin film
coating technology to produce
lightweight and durable
polycarbonate mirrors.
South Australia leads the nation
in the uptake of wind energy and
rooftop solar with renewable
sources accounting for more than
40 per cent of the electricity
generated in the state. The State
Government aims to extend this to
50 per cent by 2025.
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