Like some superhero-comic contraption, NREL's High-Flux Solar Furnace can deliver the heat of 2,500 suns to melt a hole through solid steel in less than a minute. It has been used to destroy toxic waste, create hydrogen fuel from water, and develop nuclear defense applications.
Practically speaking, the 10-kilowatt optical furnace harnesses concentrated sunlight to test high-temperature processes or applications that require high heating rates using solar concentration. It has been used by universities, NREL researchers, private industry, and federal agencies for durable on-sun testing since 1989. And, tech-obsessed millennial that it is, the HFSF's recent hardware upgrades help keep it continually in demand among researchers. With access to all that Colorado sunshine from the mesa above NREL's campus, the future looks bright for the furnace.
Media may contact:
Wayne Hicks
303-275-4051
wayne.hicks@nrel.gov
For more information
1617 Cole Blvd
Golden Colorado
United States 80401-3305
www.nrel.gov
