DESC0022690
Cooperative Agreement
Overview
Grant Description
Advanced development and testing of the Sunring heliostat.
Awardee
Grant Program (CFDA)
Awarding Agency
Funding Agency
Place of Performance
Broomfield,
Colorado
80020-3425
United States
Geographic Scope
Single Zip Code
Related Opportunity
Analysis Notes
Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 03/26/23 to 08/27/25 and the total obligations have increased 575% from $200,000 to $1,350,000.
Solar Dynamics was awarded
Cooperative Agreement DESC0022690
worth $1,350,000
from the Office of Science in June 2022 with work to be completed primarily in Broomfield Colorado United States.
The grant
has a duration of 3 years 2 months and
was awarded through assistance program 81.049 Office of Science Financial Assistance Program.
The Cooperative Agreement was awarded through grant opportunity FY 2022 SBIR/STTR Phase I Release 2.
SBIR Details
Research Type
SBIR Phase I
Title
Advanced Development and Testing of the SunRing Heliostat
Abstract
The Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technology Office has set a 2030 cost target of 5 ¢/kWh for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants. The solar field represents the largest cost in a CSP tower plant (30-40% of total installed cost) with commercial heliostats having installed costs of approximately $140/m2. Solar Dynamics (SD) proposes to develop and test an advanced version of our SunRing™ heliostat that reduces its total installed and proves its bankability for commercial installations. The advanced SunRing heliostat will have an installed cost 40% lower than current commercial heliostats. Phase 1 of the project focuses on developing cost saving advances in the SunRing’s novel azimuth drive moving from a conceptual to a final design supported by physical component testing. Extended outdoor testing of the baseline SunRing will also occur providing additional experience with the overall azimuth drive design approach. Phase 1 will be followed by commercialization steps in Phase 2 where the SunRing heliostat is transitioned from a Technology Readiness Level of 5 to 7. This is accomplished with 1-year of outdoor performance testing by a USA National Laboratory. Additionally, lifetime performance testing will occur on the SunRing’s drives. The focus of Phase 2 is to de-risk the technology and provide comfort in the SunRing’s ability to perform in commercial solar projects. This is critical to gain the investment needed to deploy the SunRing at commercial scale. Our team is well suited to propose this project. SD has built and deployed the baseline SunRing heliostat. In addition, SD personnel have led development, design, and operations of some of the largest CSP power plants in the world.
Topic Code
C54-15f
Solicitation Number
None
Status
(Ongoing)
Last Modified 8/6/24
Period of Performance
6/27/22
Start Date
8/27/25
End Date
Funding Split
$1.4M
Federal Obligation
$0.0
Non-Federal Obligation
$1.4M
Total Obligated
Activity Timeline
Transaction History
Modifications to DESC0022690
Additional Detail
Award ID FAIN
DESC0022690
SAI Number
None
Award ID URI
SAI EXEMPT
Awardee Classifications
Small Business
Awarding Office
892430 SC CHICAGO SERVICE CENTER
Funding Office
892401 SCIENCE
Awardee UEI
SMJKHE3GA894
Awardee CAGE
7KBK0
Performance District
CO-07
Senators
Michael Bennet
John Hickenlooper
John Hickenlooper
Budget Funding
Federal Account | Budget Subfunction | Object Class | Total | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|---|
Science, Energy Programs, Energy (089-0222) | General science and basic research | Grants, subsidies, and contributions (41.0) | $1,350,000 | 100% |
Modified: 8/6/24