Abstract
To this day solar technologies do not cover a significant share of the industrial steam demand, despite the fact that concentrating
solar collectors are market available, are well capable of reaching the required operating temperatures, and are able to generate
steam directly. In addition to the low cost of fossil fuels and emission permits, other reasons for the slow market penetration of
solar thermal technologies for industrial process heat applications are the lack of awareness within industry that such
technologies exist, along with the lack of standard package solutions. Currently, every solar process heat system must be custom
tailored and integrated with the fossil fuel fired heat source of the system. This results in considerable costs for engineering
services and approval. Therefore Viessmann, a leading provider of industrial steam boilers, and Industrial Solar, a renowned
manufacturer of linear Fresnel collectors and turnkey provider of solar process heat systems, have joined forces to develop a
standardized solar-fossil fuel powered steam generation system for industrial applications. The two industrial partners are being
supported by the German Aerospace Center, DLR, which has more than 20 years of research experience with concentrating solar
thermal technologies and direct steam generation.
Our conference paper provides insight into the current status of the project and the activities planned.
This development is funded by the Federal Environment Ministry under the project title “SolSteam” and will form the basis for
the development of a commercially available product.