Aware of the ambitious challenge of achieving climate neutrality (net-zero objective), with zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and the key role that concentrated solar power technologies can play in this scenario, the ACES consortium, Alta Concentración de Energía Solar, made up of research centres, universities, associations and companies located in the Community of Madrid, has launched the ACES4NET0-CM R&D programme: ‘Concentrated solar power for net-zero objectives in industrial processes and transport’. The programme starts in January 2025 and will end in December 2028, having held its launch meeting at the headquarters of Institute IMDEA Energía in Móstoles on Thursday 22 January.

The consortium is made up of 8 research groups from 7 R&D centres and universities: IMDEA Energía (coordinator); Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; the Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry of CSIC; the Polytechnic University of Madrid; the Carlos III University of Madrid; the National University of Distance Education and CIEMAT. The Spanish Association for the Promotion of the Thermosolar Industry (PROTERMOSOLAR) and the companies REPSOL, Empresarios Agrupados, Aelius Energies, COX Group, Fersisolar, Solatom, Tewer Ingeniería and SISTEM CPS are also participating.

ACES4NET0-CM addresses three major objectives of vital importance for the deployment of CSP in energy end-use sectors and applications with difficult electrification: Objective 1. To develop and improve unique facilities and specialised training in the Community of Madrid in the area of CSP. Progress in the development of solar heat solutions in industrial processes Objective 3. Accelerate the roadmap of the first demonstrators for the thermochemical production of hydrogen and synthetic fuels. Results in training, process development and enabling technologies such as AI, digitalisation and ML address the training and diagnostic challenges required by the new technological solutions. Expected results in new materials and components are oriented towards the dynamisation of the Spanish net-zero solar concentration industry. Finally, in the field of processes, research is being carried out on the development of heat and electricity hybridisation schemes, different industrial processes with a diversity of thermal fluids and thermochemical processes for the production of solar fuels.

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ACES4NET0-CM (TEC-2024/ECO-116) is funded by the programme of R&D activities between research groups of the Community of Madrid in Technologies 2024.