Refractory Solar Selective Coatings

This project will develop high-performance selective receiver coatings for concentrated solar power (CSP) to meet the DOE SunShot 2020 goal of LCOE ≤6 ¢/kWhe. We will exploit recent advances in photonic crystal fabrication and nanocomposite materials synthesis to manufacture coatings that withstand high operating temperatures in air (>800 °C) while maintaining a high solar absorptivity (≥95%) and low IR emissivity (≤0.05). We will accomplish this goal by engineering the selective receiver coatings at multiple length scales. The techniques have been individually demonstrated in our labs. Our research team combines expertise in ALD nanophase composites at Argonne, sol-gel processing at InnoSense, LLC, and nanomaterials synthesis and characterization at Northwestern University. Together we will develop high performance receiver coatings to achieve the ambitious SunShot 2020 goal of LCOE ≤6 ¢/kWhe.