wiredInUSA December 2017

The Synlight system at German aerospace center, DLR

Researchers shine a light

The German aerospace center DLR has inaugurated its Synlight system in Jülich, in North Rhine-Westphalia. The system comprises 149 high-output lights to simulate concentrated solar power inside a specifically designed three-story building. The Synlight system will help researchers create solar fuels, independent of disruptive changes in weather patterns. The overall objective is to develop solar units that can producehydrogenor other fuels atmaximum efficiency. The institute of solar research has set up a honeycomb-shape array of xenon short-arc lamps, mounting them vertically on a tall support frame. Mirrored reflectors of around 1m diameter can be used to concentrate the rays to 20cm x 20cm (7.87 x 7.87 inches). This corresponds to a power concentration

of around 10,000kW/m², compared to original sunlight at a maximum of 1kW/m². Temperatures at the focal point can rise above 3,000°C. Since the lamps can be employed in up to three different simultaneous tests, the time between new developments is shortened. The high temperatures are intended to produce resources, such as hydrogen, in a sustainable way. To create hydrogen, light is concentrated on a demonstration system containing a cerium oxide lattice. If steam is introduced into the reaction chamber, the oxygen it contains will combine with the metal at around 800°C and will be absorbed by it, so that hydrogen is the only product left. Bernhard Hoffschmidt, director of the institute, described thegas as “analchemist’s dream,” as “this high-energy fuel can be used to create virtually anything.”

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wiredInUSA - December 2017