SCARABEUS: thermodynamic solar reduces energy costs
New power cycle lowers cost of electricity from concentrated solar power plants
An advanced power cycle that improves the conversion of heat into electricity, significantly reducing its cost. This is the result of the Horizon 2020 SCARABEUS project, coordinated by Politecnico di Milano, Department of Energy and launched in April 2019, which has successfully achieved its objectives and officially ended.
The main innovation of the project is the use of an innovative working fluid based on carbon dioxide mixed with specific additives, which improves the efficiency of the thermodynamic cycle and allows condensation at high temperatures up to 60°C, making the cycle suitable for CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) applications.
SCARABEUS has made it possible to reduce the cost of electricity produced by concentrating solar power plants to less than €90/MWh, compared to €120/MWh for current technologies. We have achieved these results by improving the efficiency of the power cycle by 10% and by developing innovative components at reduced costs.
Giampaolo Manzolini, project coordinator and lecturer at the Department of Energy
The new fluid was tested in a 200 kW circuit at the Vienna University of Technology, which confirmed its performance potential. It also demonstrated the superior performance of the heat exchangers developed in the project, paving the way for a more competitive future for solar thermodynamic energy.
In addition to Politecnico di Milano, the project involved the Universidad de Sevilla, City – University of London, Vienna University of Technology and the University of Brescia, as well as the companies Baker Hughes, Coxabengoa, Kelvion and Quantis.
