Heliogen Inc (HLGN)

[WeTheMarket]

Podcast Beyond Fossil Fuels: Concentrated Solar Energy’s Potential (Steve Schell, Chief scientist at Heliogen)
Apr 17, 2023

Of particular interest, at minute 18 into the video, Steve Schell talks about a long list of mining industry customers they are currently in discussion with, that they hope to start revealing in the near future.

Description

Imagine if one million mirrors are oriented to reflect solar energy to one specific point. Imagine the sheer amount of heat generated; imagine the energy potential. Concentrated solar energy uses this technique, and can be used to store energy at a lower cost than batteries. But the sun never sits still. How do you design solar harvesters that efficiently follow the path of the sun?

In today’s episode, Steve Shell, an accomplished scientist, engineer, and the current Chief Scientist at Heliogen, breaks down the current state of concentrated solar energy. With him, we discuss:

??How the efficiency and operation of concentrated solar technology compares to other forms of renewable energy, like wind or hydroelectric.
???What is concentrated solar power, and what material differences there are between this technology and “classical” solar power?
???The challenges in operating and maintaining large-scale solar harvesting facilities.
??Some of the most promising emerging applications of concentrated solar technology, and how might they transform the energy landscape in the coming years.
??And much more!

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Timestamps:
- Teaser (0:00 – 1:09)
- Intro, Latest Travel, & Episode Highlights (1:09 – 5:54)
- Introducing Steve Schell (5:54 – 6:39)
- Concentrated solar power (CSP) (6:39 – 9:57)
- Heat & energy production (9:57 – 10:47)
- Complexity of heliostats (10:47 – 14:23)
- Efficiency of heliostats (14:23 – 16:04)
- Current & future customers (16:04 – 18:14)
- Reliability of solar and energy storage (18:14 – 22:02)
- Thermal batteries to extract heat (22:02 – 24:52)
- Tradeoff when using coatings (24:52 – 29:14)
- High-temp materials as heat sinks (29:14 – 33:41)
- Promising applications of CSP (33:41 – 37:35)
- Transitioning from fossil fuels to solar (37:35 – 42:03)
- Balancing innovation with community disparities (42:03 – 46:02)
- Advice to tackle issues in solar (46:02 – 50:04)
- Conclusion (50:04 – 51:05)
- MSE Academy (51:05 – 52:10)