Hybrid Concentrated Solar Thermal and Wind Resistive Heating Systems as Key for Competitive Low Emission Industrial Process Heat Generation

Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) has been addressed as a promising technology for industrial heat decarbonization; however, its use is still limited to low-medium temperature processes (50-250°C). The following analysis explores its feasibility at high temperature employing a parabolic trough solar field with a direct two-tank storage configuration using molten salts both as heat transfer fluid and storage medium, to provide a constant 10 MWTH power to heat up a process fluid to 500°C. Through an economic optimization, various levels of process decarbonization are examined, also including CST hybridization with resistive electric heating powered by photovoltaic and wind energy generation and computing CO2 emissions on a life cycle assessment (LCA) basis. The results indicate that CST is a viable alternative to direct electrification up to 30-50% process decarbonization, while hybrid systems show potential to reduce costs up to 40% at high decarbonization levels. Moreover, although achieving 100% process decarbonization remains still unfeasible, decarbonization levels up to 80-95% appear economically viable when considering up-to-date costs and the forecasted carbon tax.