Time to wrap-up the project!

The consortium held its final event on the 25th November, welcoming a broad public from all over Europe and further, both online and in the premises of CENER in Sangüesa (Spain). Although the day was cloudy, the participants who traveled there had a chance to behold the prototype with their own eyes and follow the operations with the receiver and the tracking system. The online participants could get an impression of what the prototype looks like through a virtual visit, available here.

The event also featured several speakers from the consortium and one guest, who all gave technical details about the different parts of the prototype and the implementation of this innovative technology in the future.

The audience, in particular the members of the External Advisory Board, thanked the whole consortium for their hard work during these past five years and expressed their interest in seeing the further developments of the concepts studied in Sangüesa. It is now time to enhance the MOSAIC technology and pave the way for its commercialization!

Soon a short, final video will be shared, that describes the project as a whole and shows how it can be essential in the energetic transition. Stay tuned for this last piece of the mosaic!

Last chance to register for the final event !

The consortium is delighted to invite you to the final event of MOSAIC, in the form of a visit of the prototype and a series of conferences relative to innovative CSP technologies. Given the particular sanitary conditions affecting the whole Europe, the event will be both physical, in the form of conferences and a visit of the prototype in Sangüesa, Spain, and re-transmitted online; but we can only recommend you the physical visit of the prototype, as you will have a unique chance to see it with your own eyes !

Only a few places remain for the physical version ! You can still register for the online version until the day of the event.

Registration takes place HERE !

Final tracking system tests are ongoing !

The final stage of the MOSAIC project has started. With the construction of the solar field completed, the final tests and tune-ups on the prototype are being carried out . The receiver, controlled by a tracking system made of actuated cables and a control loop, moves over the solar field, following during the whole day the path of the sun and collecting the maximum amount of energy.

As you can see in the video below, the receiver shines brightly when in the tracking position. The HTF is circulated through the receiver by the means of two special hoses, which connect the receiver to the skid tower. Temperature probes at the entry and exit points measure the thermal gap achieved by the effect of the solar heating.

Different tests are being carried out to check and improve the accuracy of the tracking system and the global performance of this innovative thermo-solar plant system.

If you wish to have more detailed explanations and a closer look on the prototype, don’t forget to register to the final event HERE !

The solar field is complete !!!

After several months of installation of the electrical and mechanical parts of the prototype, the solar field was the last major element to be assembled on the field. This phase of the works, started in September, was completed and canted by 28th October, and the prototype has finally achieved its final, impressive look:

On the following video, you can observe how some of the latest mirrors were assembled in the outer rings of the solar field.

Additional installations (grounding and sprinklers system) should be executed during the coming days, as well as the final tests of the project, concerning the tracking system and the receiver heating.

If you wish to have more detailed explanations and a closer look on the prototype, don’t forget to register to the final event HERE !

Register to the MOSAIC final event !

As the end of the project is approaching, the consortium is delighted to invite you to the final event of MOSAIC, in the form of a visit of the prototype and a series of conferences relative to innovative CSP technologies.

You can register HERE !

Please note that the physical participation in Sangüesa is limited to 22 people; once the limit is reached, you will still be able to register for the online transmission of the event.

MOSAIC at Solar Paces 2021

The Project Coordinator, Cristóbal Villasante, presented what should be the last participation of the project to a public event, in this case SolarPaces on 1st October, before its achievement in November 2021.

The general concepts, as well as the steps of the project’s development, were highlighted in a presentation focused on the lessons learned during the commissioning of the prototype and the steps towards the deployment of such a technology.

The slides used during the event can be found here

The next and final event of the project will be the visit of the prototype itself, open to the public for the occasion, and also accessible online ! The link to this event can be found here.

News from the construction site: the solar field is being installed !

A major phase of works has started in the MOSAIC project: the solar field assembly. This highly essential element, acting as the concentrator of the solar rays, is composed of 43 modules of mirrors divided in 3 zones: a central skull-cap, and 2 concentrical rings of modules.

Each module is composed by a group of mirrors placed on a metallic frame at a very accurate position. The frame with the mirrors is placed on the correspondent support. Once the module is completed, it is necessary to check and adjust the orientation of the frame, so that it is precisely oriented towards the receiver and provides the maximum heat concentration, allowing for higher temperatures in the heat transfer fluid.

Supports in the central skull-cap are already placed and the first frames with mirrors have also been installed on them. The works are on course and will continue during the following weeks until the entire solar field is completed.

Discover the steps of the construction of the MOSAIC prototype !

Our consortium, made of European partners from 6 countries, has regularly published news about the construction site in Spain. To make the process clearer, we have created this explanatory video that sums up the important milestones along the progress of the construction, as well as the roles of each partner and the steps ahead. It will be updated with the remaining steps, once the project is completed in November.

Enjoy watching !

News from the construction site: receiver placed in the oven!

The MOSAIC project has reached a new important milestone: the first access of the receiver to the oven for heating-up procedure testing. On 15th June, the prototype site was ready for this manoeuvre, which allows the receiver to be placed inside the oven for heating process or to prevent high temperature losses from the receiver (during night, for example).

The complete manoeuvre in this specific installation consists of the following steps:

  1. The receiver is placed by means of the tracking system control in a vertical position, just in front of the oven. The upper crossbars of the receiver are laid on a specific retractable support.
  2. This support moves to the oven, placing the receiver in its right position.
  3. The doors of the oven close. The isolation parts of the receiver at its ends fit with the oven doors, so the receiver is kept in an isolated space, where the heating-up process can take place.

When the receiver is needed to move from the oven to the workspace, the inverse manoeuvre is carried out.

See the whole process in this video (accelerated 20 times):

From now onwards, the prototype can be tested with HTF preheating at intermediate temperatures, a previous step before the solar field is built and the higher temperatures are reached.

A significant milestone reached in MOSAIC project: real receiver installed !

During the last months, different systems had been tested by means of a dummy receiver connected to dummy hoses, simulating work conditions. Once the tests were completed, both the receiver and the hoses were replaced by the real ones. The operation was carried out from 20th to 22nd April and needed the participation and the cooperation of different partners and their subcontractors. The thermal installation is now complete with its real components.

The elevation of the ensemble was performed by means of a crane which lifted the real hoses, already connected to the receiver, while the receiver itself was lifted by the tracking system cables, in a coordinated operation. The hoses’ end, opposite to the receiver, was connected to the skid installation, on top of the main metallic tower.

In the following days, the system will be filled with HTF, and then the thermal loop system will be ready for the different tests that will assess its fine working. In a few weeks the solar field will be installed, before the start of the final period of set-up tests. Stay tuned for more news !