The Larkfleet Group of Companies has received funding to test renewable solar thermal technology in Mexico.
The solar thermal system test will be carried out to produce energy that can be used in industrial processes.
Larkfleet’ solar steam technology can condensate the power of the sun’s rays to heat water, helping to create steam for use in industrial processes.
After securing patents for the solar steam technology, the company is pooling funding to deliver a pre-commercial demonstration of solar steam at a site in Morelos in Mexico.
With the support of Mexico-UK Collaborative Industrial Research and Development Programme, the company has developed funding application for demonstration of the project.
The programme is funded by the National Science and Technology Council in Mexico (CONACYT), Innovate UK and the Newton Fund.
Through partnering with academic and industrial partners in Mexic and taking the support of Queen Mary University of London, Larkfleet will develop the pre-commercial demonstrator of the project.
Larkfleet will provide £160,000 of the total project budget, which is about £800,000. The project is expected to complete in two years.
Larkfleet solar steam system will work by concentrating the sun’s rays through a Fresnel lens array onto a tube with water. The water will be heated to produce steam that can be used in industrial process heating and cooling applications.
In addition, the solar steam array can be used to produce industrial steam for industrial applications
The solar steam project’s project manager Simone Perini said: “Following extensive testing in the UK – where the weather is often not ideal for solar power! – we are taking this technology to a wider market where we believe it will have a positive impact on the generation of sustainable and renewable heat.