Modulus – Modular Transfer Station
The German research project Modulus, which stands for Modular Heat Transfer Station, is one of the solarthermalworld.org partners. The project aims at developing a standardised, modular interface – a so called “balance of plant” for the integration of solar heat into industrial process heat systems to bring down costs of solar heat solutions. The currently customary individual planning and production of balance of plants at the respective location increases costs and risks of errors.
Together with the four industrial project participants, researchers from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Fraunhofer ISE develop a largely standardised modular and scalable balance of plant as an interface between the solar field and the industrial process heating system. The photo shows a pre-fabricated balance of plant for the demonstration site in Turnhout, Belgium (Photo: AURA GmbH & Co. KG). The DLR chairs the project which ends in March 2025 and is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
Please see below the articles created as part of this partnership:
The evolving SHIP supply industry: Key players and new entrants
The updated SHIP Supplier World Map lists 66 companies. Among them 15 had installed SHIP plants totalling more than 10,000 m2 by the end of 2024. They are headquartered in the USA, Mexico, Europe and China (see World Map above). One further company has fulfilled the requirement to be listed …
Global expansion of solar industrial heat: Key insights from the latest Outlook
Solar process heat is spreading worldwide. Projects are currently under construction or in planning on all five continents. Project developers have reported 73 plants totalling 277 MW that are to be realized by 2027 – the majority of them in Europe. The Solar Industrial Heat Outlook 2025-2027 presents the results …
Key factors behind SHIP project developers’ business satisfaction
Development of solar process heat projects is a challenging business around the world. Slow decision-making by the clients, low fossil fuel energy prices and a lack of faith in the relatively new technology once again made it hard to close deals last year. This became apparent when around 70 SHIP …
Global SHIP market reaches five-year high despite national fluctuations
The global solar industrial heat (SHIP) market maintained its dynamic development in 2024. The project developers reported 106 new systems with a total capacity of 120 MW for the year. A further 125 MW were under construction by the end of 2024. This is an enormous capacity increase compared to …
Ranking of the world’s most experienced SHIP suppliers
The updated SHIP Supplier World Map lists 68 companies. Those among them with the highest number of SHIP systems commissioned by the end of 2023 are listed in the ranking above. The world’s most experienced SHIP suppliers come from Mexico, the Netherlands and China: Modulo Solar, Solareast Group, G2 Energy, …
Successes and challenges on the SHIP world market 2023
Success and frustration went hand-in-hand on the global solar industrial heat market 2023. Some companies were extremely successful in implementing many small SHIP (Solar Heat for Industrial Processes) projects or a few large ones and met their targets. In general, technology providers around the world are experiencing high demand but …
The Netherlands and Spain drive SHIP market 2023
The world market for solar process heat (SHIP) continues to pick up speed. In 2023, the newly installed capacity tripled compared to the two previous years. The project developers reported 116 systems with a capacity of 94 MW. A year earlier there were also 116 systems but with only 31 …
Green Heat subsidy scheme in Flanders supports concentrating solar heat plants
Flanders, the northern region of Belgium, will see a series of concentrating solar process heat systems go into operation in the next year. The starting point is the 2.5 MW parabolic trough collector field at Avery Dennison, a leading global packaging and materials manufacturer in Turnhout, inaugurated at the beginning …
Supply chain constraints in concentrating solar thermal
The demand for heat above 100 °C in industry is huge. More and more project developers offer solutions with concentrating collectors that can provide heat between 100 and 400 °C. On the regularly updated World Map of SHIP Turnkey Suppliers, the number of concentrating collector providers has now grown to …
Cost reduction potential through prefabricated and standardized balance of plants
Standardized, modular interfaces for the integration of solar heat into factories can reduce solar heat system costs significantly. The photo shows such a prefabricated so-called balance of plant (BoP) before being shipped to Turnhout in Belgium to connect a 2.5 MW parabolic trough collector field with a chemical factory. The …
High innovation potential of suppliers for concentrating heat solutions
The number of providers with higher temperature solar process heat solutions continues to grow. More manufacturers of concentrating collectors are now listed on the SHIP Supplier World Map than manufacturers of stationary collectors (see pie chart above). The dominant technology is parabolic trough collectors, provided by 17 companies. A total …
Mood on the SHIP market: High interest but slow decision making
Last year, gas shortages in Europe dominated the headlines for months. Energy prices peaked and heat-intensive producers had to increase the prices of their products. Against this background we asked solar industrial heat project developers for their assessment of the progress in the business. Of the around 70 companies listed …
