The use of FB technology and gas/solid two-phase flow to substitute for a liquid HTF provides a new approach to
CSP thermal system design that can overcome many issues facing the current molten-salt-based CSP plant design,
namely: salt freezing at low temperature, salt stability for high-temperature operation to support a high-efficiency
power cycle, material compatibility with high-temperature containment, and high cost of both the salt and hightemperature
metal structure. The particle-TES system avoids the issues of molten-salt TES with high-temperature
stability (>650°C), low freezing point (650°C) at a reduced cost. The FB-CSP thermal system advances CSP thermal energy conversion and
thermal storage with significant benefits in both plant cost and performance.