CSIRO concentrated solar spin out FPR Energy raises $15 million

CSIRO venture FPR Energy has secured $15 million in seed funding to commercialise next generation solar thermal technology that will help reduce industrial emissions, which account for 20 per cent of Australia’s annual carbon footprint.

The company was launched in collaboration with advisory and funds management firm RFC Ambrian and utilities business Osaka Gas, raising the largest seed funding for a CSIRO co-founded venture to date.

FPR Energy aims to cut emissions in heavy industries such as minerals refining, steel, cement and chemicals using CSIRO’s particle-based Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) technology.

FPR Energy’s CST technology captures solar energy using heliostats to heat inert ceramic particles which store energy for on-demand industrial heat or electricity generation.

Capable of producing temperatures up to 1200 degrees Celsius, the technology was developed through the Australian solar Thermal Research Institute (ASTRI), with support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

CSIRO Energy Technologies Research Director Dr Daniel Roberts said: “Diversifying the way we harness Australia’s abundant solar resources will help develop a low-carbon economy and support economic growth and job creation in the Hunter region.

“Helping heavy industries to transition to cleaner energy sources is essential to reaching Australia’s net-zero emission targets.”

FPR Energy plans to develop a 50 megawatt thermal demonstration plant, with up to 16 hours of integrated thermal energy storage. The plant aims to prove the commercial viability of FPR Energy’s CST technology at a utility scale.

The Head of Next generation Business Development Department of Osaka Gas Hiroki Tanaka said: “Emission reduction and affordability of energy are often a dilemma for many industrial energy users and this particle-based CST and possibly thermal energy storage can offer practical solutions for them.”

Picture: CSIRO/FPR Energy is built on CSIRO’s particle receiver technology research programme and is headquartered at CSIRO’s Energy Centre in Newcastle.