Dietmar Tourbier

Robbie McNaughton

Australia has world-class solar resources but has yet to take advantage of this potential energy source. The Australian Solar Thermal Research Initiative (ASTRI) is led by the CSIRO and has six partner universities. Through highly targeted research programs, ASTRI aims to deliver the next wave of cost reductions for solar thermal technologies, to ensure solar thermal is competitive with other renewable and traditional energy sources and to develop Australia’s capability to deliver this technology.

Dietmar Tourbier will highlight the Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute (ASTRI) and concentrating solar power research in Australia. Dietmar is responsible for providing overall leadership within ASTRI and providing the vision, direction and strategic oversight for the delivery, adoption and impact of the ASTRI objectives. ASTRI is an eight-year, $87 million international research collaboration to deliver cost reductions and dispatchability improvements, as well as position Australia in concentrating solar thermal power.

Australia also has a wealth of both renewable and fossil energy resources. It has strong and economically significant energy export relationships with other countries, exporting coal and liquefied natural gas. As the world transitions to lower carbon resources for its primary energy consumption, Australia is ideally placed to provide the next generation of traded energy commodities – which will be produced from renewable energy, in part or in full. Hydrogen is of particular focus as a renewable fuel, due to its carbon-free utilization potential. CSIRO has a long history developing Solar Thermal-based hydrogen.

Robbie McNaughton will highlight past and future technologies and experience for hydrogen production and pathways to market. Robbie McNaughton is the team leader for the CSIRO Solar Thermal Processes team. Robbie led the project team to achieve the first solar thermal supercritical steam suitable for power generation and first on sun demonstration of a supercritical Carbon Dixoide recuperated loop.

This is a two-part lecture series