Photothermal materials for efficient solar thermal production of heat, electricity, and fuels

现在是转向基于可再生能源的能源基础设施的时候了。阳光是一种巨大的但基本上尚未开发的清洁，可再生和可获得的能源资源。该研究计划将通过开发超轻充气太阳能系统来满足这一需求，该系统旨在提高太阳能收集效率并显着降低太阳能收集成本，并扩大阳光转化为有用形式的方式。 要做的工作的性质。与将阳光直接转化为电能的传统太阳能电池板相比，该研究计划将研究一种替代途径，即阳光首先转化为热量，然后可以储存并随后转化为其他有用的形式，包括电力和燃料。具体来说，该计划将开发超轻型充气太阳能系统（ULISES），旨在消除传统太阳能收集器使用的昂贵的玻璃和钢结构。在ULISES中，入射的太阳光被一个充气的镜子收集，镜子将太阳光聚焦到一个接收器上，在那里太阳光被有效地转化为热量。工作范围将从聚合物材料的光学和热性能的基础研究，到工程系统的光学，热学和机械设计。 为什么以及对谁来说，这项研究是重要的。该研究计划旨在通过重新思考太阳能集热器的整个结构来显着降低太阳能的成本。由此产生的系统将能够为广泛的能源密集型应用提供动力，包括空间加热，水淡化和净化以及工业过程。这项研究计划将导致聚合物的光学和热性能的根本改善，这将交叉授粉到其他研究领域。 预期成果。这项研究计划将：（1）为低成本太阳能技术铺平道路;（2）将聚合物材料的光学和热性能推向极限，并提供新的制造和表征技术;（3）提供实验室规模的ULISES工程原型，以吸引加拿大能源和清洁技术行业的兴趣;以及（4）为18名高素质人员（HQP）提供能源、纳米材料、传热和机械设计领域的培训。 对研究领域和加拿大的潜在好处。虽然我们通常不认为加拿大有阳光充足的气候，但加拿大实际上拥有人均第二高的太阳能，仅次于澳大利亚。挑战在于这种能量分布在大面积上，强调了降低任何太阳能收集器每平方米成本的重要性，这正是本研究计划中开发的技术将解决的问题。该研究计划符合加拿大的创新和技能计划，该计划将清洁技术列为其关键领域之一。

The time has come to switch to an energy infrastructure based on renewables. Sunlight constitutes a vast yet largely untapped resource of clean, renewable, and accessible energy. This research program will address this need by developing ultra-light inflatable solar energy systems which aim to increase the efficiency and significantly reduce to cost of solar energy collection, and to expand the ways that sunlight can be transformed into useful forms. Nature of the work to be done. In contrast to traditional solar panels, which convert sunlight directly to electricity, this research program will investigate an alternative pathway where sunlight is first converted into heat, which can be stored and subsequently converted into other useful forms including electricity and fuels. Specifically this program will develop Ultra-Light Inflatable Solar Energy Systems (ULISES) which aim to do away with expensive glass and steel construction utilized by traditional solar energy collectors. In ULISES, incident sunlight is collected by an inflated mirror which focuses it onto a receiver where it is efficiently converted into heat. The work will range from fundamental investigation of the optical and thermal properties of polymer materials, to optical, thermal, and mechanical design of the engineered system as a whole. Why and to whom this research is of important. This research program aims to significantly reduce the cost of solar energy by rethinking the entire structure of solar energy collectors. The resulting systems will be capable of powering a wide range of energy intensive applications including space heating, water desalination and purification, and industrial processes. This research program will lead to fundamental improvements in optical and thermal properties of polymers which will cross-pollinate into other research fields. Anticipated outcomes. This research program will: (1) pave the way for low-cost solar energy technology; (2) push polymer materials to the limit in terms of optical and thermal properties and provide new fabrication and characterization techniques; (3) provide engineered lab-scale prototypes of ULISES to attract interest from the Canadian energy and cleantech industries; and (4) provide training for 18 highly qualified personnel (HQP) in the fields of energy, nanomaterials, heat transfer, and mechanical design. Potential benefits to the research field and to Canada. Although we do not typically consider Canada to have a sunny climate, Canada actually boasts the second highest available solar energy per capita, second only to Australia. The challenge is that this energy is distributed over large areas, emphasizing the importance of reducing the cost per square meter of any solar energy collector, which is exactly what the technology developed in this research program will address. This research program is in line with Canada's Innovation and Skills Plan, which lists Clean Technology as one of its key areas.