• April 17, 2026
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Poland’s solar thermal sector

Momentum builds for solar thermal in Poland: Major plant, new tenders and EU Project LIGHT

The beginning of the year has brought a series of important developments for Poland’s solar thermal sector. Construction has started on the country’s largest solar district heating plant – an 12.3 MW installation in Gliwice in southern Poland (see photo) – with more calls for tenders for similar projects expected …
green hydrogen technologies

“We need tailed concentrating optics to boost the hydrogen production without cooking the reactor”

One of the strengths of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme is its ability to bring together scientists working on similar topics from across continents to exchange ideas. This was once again successfully demonstrated within Task 72 on Solar Photoreactors for the Production of Fuels and Chemicals. Prof. Craig …
EU-SOLARIS ERIC Annual Awards

SOLARIS Award 2026 for best doctoral thesis in concentrating solar thermal technologies

Applications for the EU-SOLARIS ERIC Annual Awards 2026 are open until 30 April 2026. EU-SOLARIS ERIC is a consortium of European countries jointly developing research infrastructures for concentrating solar thermal (CST) technologies. The awards recognize outstanding scientific and technical achievements in this field and include two categories: Best doctoral thesis …
Medium-temperature solar heat plants

Solar heat for industry goes global: new medium-temperature plants from Morocco to the USA

Medium-temperature solar collector systems for industrial heat are becoming increasingly established. Companies in the food and pharmaceutical sectors in particular are increasingly turning to solar thermal energy to decarbonize their manufacturing processes. A prominent example is the Heineken brewery in Patras, Greece, where the German project developer Protarget is currently …
IEA SHC Solar Award

Apply now for the IEA SHC Solar Award with a solar thermal innovative project

The International Energy Agency’s Solar Heating and Cooling Programme has opened applications for the SHC Solar Award 2026, inviting companies, business consortiums and public entities worldwide to submit innovative solar thermal solutions. The competition recognizes initiatives that significantly advance the adoption of solar heating and cooling technologies and expand their …
Proven reliability of concentrating collectors

Proven reliability of concentrating collectors in coastal and dusty conditions

The long-term operation of the concentrating collectors at the fruit juice factory Kean Softdrinks in Cyprus has shown that this technology can reliably supply steam even in dusty environments and near the sea. Since commissioning in 2018, the plant has operated without any major failures. Routine mirror cleaning has been …
solar receiver coatings

Swiss-made and cost-competitive: Sunaxer’s new approach to solar receiver coatings

Switzerland isn’t exactly known for cost-effective production conditions. That makes it all the more remarkable that a receiver manufacturer based in Renens, near Lausanne in western Switzerland, claims to produce as cost-effectively as its competitors from Asia. We’re talking about Sunaxer, a startup founded by Anna Krammer and Maxime Lagier …
Bridging the gap between PCM research and real-world storage

Bridging the gap between PCM research and real-world storage

In recent years, research into compact thermal energy storage has focused primarily on the development of storage materials. This focus is now set to broaden. The IEA SHC Programme has launched a new research group dedicated to Components for Thermal Energy Storage. “We would like to bridge the gap between …

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