Synhelion and Cemex produce building material using solar mirrors

02/14/2022 | Print view

The mirrors focus the sunlight, creating 1,500 degrees Celsius in the receiver. Small picture: solar-produced cement clinker. - © Synhelion/Cemex — © Synhelion/Cemex

The mirrors focus the sunlight, creating 1,500 degrees Celsius in the receiver. Small picture: solar-produced cement clinker.

The cement producer Cemex and the solar company Synhelion from Switzerland have produced the first solar clinker in the world. The high temperatures for the rotary kiln were generated by concentrating solar mirrors.

Clinker is the most important component of cement. They are produced by fusing limestone, clay and other materials in a rotary kiln at a temperature of about 1,500 degrees Celsius. The kilns are usually fired using fossil fuels. "The production of the first solar clinker is an important milestone," explains Fernando A. Gonzalez, CEO of Cemex.

Pilot plant in Spain

Synhelion and Cemex engineers have built a pilot plant, on the solar tower of the IMDEA Energy research centre in Spain. Synhelion's solar concentrated solar power system delivers over 1,500 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature currently possible from mirror-based solar technology. It heats a carrier gas that provides the process heat for the clinker.

In the pilot project, calcination and clinker production were powered exclusively by solar energy. The clinker was used in cement, which was further processed into concrete. In the next phase of the project, Cemex and Synhelion want to produce the solar clinker in larger quantities to reach industrial scale. (HS/mfo)

Also interesting: Solar cogeneration back on the agenda