Matthias Rommel

Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE
Heidenhofstr. 2, D-79110 Freiburg
email: matthias. rommel@ise. fraunhofer. de

Since the beginning of December 2003 a new IEA Task on "Solar Heat for Industrial Processes" is working. The Task is organised as Task 33 of the Solar Heating and Cooling Programme and as Task 4 of the SolarPACES Programme. It is referred to as Task 33/4 in the following. This new Task will contribute to somehow bridge the gap in information exchange and in technology development between solar thermal collectors for domestic hot water and room heating applications on the one side and high and medium temperature parabolic trough collectors on the other side. The objective of the whole Task is to make use of the huge potential for solar heat in the industry and to open new market sectors for the solar thermal industry. The aim is to integrate solar thermal systems into industrial processes in the best and most suitable way.

One of the objectives of the IEA Task 33/4 is to develop, improve and optimise collectors with a potential for integration in industrial processes with a temperature level up to 250 °C. This is the field of work of Subtask C of Task 33/4.

In the paper an overview on the new collector developments in the temperature range of 80°C to 250°C is given. These collectors are investigated in the Task. The collector technologies cover new collectors from improved flat plate collectors, anti-reflectively double-glazed flat-plate collectors, low concentration CPC collectors, vacuum tube collectors and new developments of low cost parabolic trough collectors.

The input to the paper and to the presentation comes from all experts of the Subtask C of the IEA Task 33/4.