Sandia’s concentrating solar power program to take part in upcoming 2022 SolarPACES Conference

Sandia National Laboratories’ (Sandia) researchers will present and exhibit at the upcoming SolarPACES 2022 conference taking place Sept. 27-30, 2022, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The conference will be held at the Albuquerque Convention Center, and feature esteemed speakers such as Martin Heinrich, United States Senator for New Mexico; Avi Shultz, program manager for concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) for the U.S. Department of Energy; Tim Keller, Albuquerque Mayor; Bill Gross, Founder and CEO of Heliogen; and Clifford Ho, a Senior Scientist at Sandia National Laboratories.

SolarPACES (Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems) is an international cooperative network bringing together teams of national experts from around the world to focus on the development and marketing of concentrating solar power (CSP) systems (also known as solar thermal power systems). This year’s conference will include six plenaries and over 45 sessions presented within 15 different CSP categories.

Sandia’s Concentrating Solar Power program will provide tours of the National Solar Thermal Test Facility on Sept. 26th and Sept. 30th for per-registered conference attendees only. The trip will include a comprehensive walking tour of the facilities, and depending on the weather, visitors may be able to observe operating concentrating systems and access the top of the solar tower.

Sandia’s conference speakers and presenters will include:

Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022

• Clifford Ho: “Concentrating Solar-Thermal Energy (CST) for Industrial Decarbonization,” at 8:30 a.m. MDT. This session will be chaired by Clifford Ho.
• Andrew Smith: “Design, Synthesis and Characterization of Materials for Solar Thermochemical Hydrogen Production,” at 10:30 a.m. MDT.
• Clifford Ho: “CSP Design Study for Sandia National Laboratories and Kirtland Air Force Base,” at 11:50 a.m. MDT.
• Nathan Schroeder: “Testing and Model Validation of a 100 kWh Radial Packed Bed Thermal Energy Storage System,” at 2:50 p.m. MDT.
• Clifford Ho: “Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling of Solar Thermal Dry Reforming of Methane in a Parabolic Trough,” at 4:20 p.m. MDT.
• Jeremy Sment: “Cyclic Thermal and Structural Testing of a Hot Particle Storage Bin,” at 4:40 p.m. MDT.
• Brantley Mills: “Development of the Generation 3 Particle Pilot Plant Falling Particle Receiver,” at 5:00 p.m. MDT.

Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022

• Randy Brost: “Heliostat Consortium Advanced Manufacturing Gap Analysis,” at 10:30 a.m. MDT.
• Jeremy Sment: “Gap Analysis of Heliostat Field Deployment Processes,” at 11:30 a.m. MDT.
• Kenneth Armijo: “Technical Gap Analysis of Heliostat Components and Controls,” at 4:00 p.m. MDT.

Friday, Sept. 30, 2022

• Kevin Albrecht: “Design and Testing of a Prototype Particle/sCO₂ Heat Exchanger at Gen3 Operating Conditions,” at 8:30 a.m. MDT.
• Kenneth Armijo: “Spectral Atmospheric Component Attenuating Effects for Heliostats and Receivers,” at 9:10 a.m. MDT.
• Andrea Ambrosini: “Solar-Thermal Ammonia Production: A Renewable, Carbon-Neutral Route to Ammonia via Concentrating Solar Thermochemistry,” at 8:30 a.m. MDT.
• Luke McLaughlin: “Solar Flux Sensor Development and Calibration for Concentrating Solar Power Research and Commercial Heat Flux Measurement Application,” at 11:10 a.m. MDT.
• Randy Brost: “Question-Based Gap Analysis of Heliostat Optical Metrology Methods,” at 12:10 p.m. MDT.

Conference attendees are encouraged to stop by the shared Sandia/National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) booth to learn more about Sandia and NREL’s concentrating solar power programs and talk with business development professionals, researchers, and—time permitting—CSP managers from both Labs.  

Special conference events will include a Welcome Reception on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022; a Gala Dinner, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022; and a Young Professionals Dinner at the Sawmill Market Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. 

To read more about the 2022 SolarPACES conference, view the conference program.

Learn more about Sandia’s Concentrating Solar Power  program.