The CSIRO has netted solar venture record seed funding to accelerate clean energy transition with FPR Energy, a new venture co-founded by CSIRO, RFC Ambrian and Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST).
This venture aims to help reduce industrial emissions in heavy industries, such as minerals refining, steel, cement and chemical production.
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 on Tuesday November 26 in collaboration with global advisory and funds management firm RFC Ambrian and utilities leader Osaka Gas, raising the largest seed funding for a CSIRO co-founded venture to date.
CSIRO energy technologies research director, Dr Daniel Roberts, said FPR Energy is a major step in meeting the growing demand for renewable solutions in hard-to-abate heavy industries.
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“FPR Energy is building on years of solar thermal research, demonstrating CSIRO’s commitment to supporting emissions reduction using impact-focussed science and technology,” 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 aims to cut emissions in heavy industries such as minerals refining, steel, cement and chemical production using CSIRO’s particle-based Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) technology, capable of producing temperatures up to 1200 degrees Celsius – an industry first.
The technology uses abundant and low-cost ceramic particles to store sunlight as heat, enabling long-duration energy storage to support industrial processes, green fuel production and reliable, dispatchable power.
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.