Halotechnics creates new materials for solar energy storage

Halotechnics has developed two new materials for solar heat energy storage involving new kinds of salt and glass. These allow much higher temperatures than have been used to date to store the heat in solar thermal power plants so they can produce power at night. This will greatly improve the efficiency and lower the costs for solar thermal power. This is a major innovation for solar thermal. Unlike solar PV which makes electricity directly, solar thermal makes heat that runs turbines driven by steam. So, unlike solar PV, it has the potential for night time solar generation, because thermal is steam-turbine-driven energy, so it can store the days heat in molten salt solutions for tapping later as needed. This evening peak hours flexibility is its advantage over cheaper PV.