The solar receiver tubes for thermodynamic
power plants: from lab to industry
How to manage the whole innovation process, avoiding the pitfalls of the intermediate
stage between basic research and commercialization
Marco Alvisi Marco Alvisi –– ENEA, ItalyENEA, Italy
Technology transfer: paving the way for advanced
manufacturing
Brussels, 25th February 2015
A viable Industrial Policy tool
Industrial Policy
Public Applied Research
Programs
Early
Public Research – Industrial Partners
collaboration
New Potential Markets
Technology Transfer
Creation
Time and TT steps
2001
2003
2002
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Prototype
Design
Project Start-up
Prototype Operation
start-up
Components test and
qualification
Demo Design and
construction
Lab R&D
Test facility
CSP
ARCHIMEDE SOLAR
ENERGY Industry
production facility
Ind
ustria
l role
Go
ve
rnm
en
t role
New manufacturing
plant (ASE)
! Public funding
! An open innovation model that
combines internal and external ideas
and expertises
Market context and Technology need
The solar receiver tube
for the thermodinamic power plants
Technically innovative elements - 1 -
Technically innovative elements - 2 -
High added value materials:
1st Patent Family
Advanced manufacturing technologies
on 1st Patent
High added value materials:
2nd Patent Family
Advanced manufacturing technologies
on 2nd Patent
Enea Experimental Plant and Test Facility
Plant operation
ENEA Casaccia National Labs, Rome
� Start-up April 2004
� Tests and qualification of the basic concept & components
� More than 15,000 hr operation
Overview of the Patents
Fampat family
ITRM20110308 A1 2012-12-16 [IT2011RM0308]
WO2012172505 A1 2012-12-20 [WO2012172505]
EP2721353 A1 2014-04-23 [EP2721353]
KR20140050629 A 2014-04-29 [KR20140050629]
CN103782113 A 2014-05-07 [CN103782113]
US2014130794 A1 2014-05-15 [US20140130794]
IN10699/DELNP/2013 A 2014-12-26 [IN2013DN10699]
HK1197099 A2 2015-01-02 [HK1197099]
Fampat family
ITRM20080113 A1 2009-09-01 [IT2008RM0113]
WO2009107157 A2 2009-09-03 [WO2009107157]
WO2009107157 A3 2010-01-14 [WO2009107157]
EP2245208 A2 2010-11-03 [EP2245208]
Fampat family
ITRM20040279 A1 2004-09-07 [IT2004RM0279]
WO2005121389 A1 2005-12-22 [WO2005121389]
EP1759031 A1 2007-03-07 [EP1759031]
EP1759031 B1 2012-12-05 [EP1759031]
Fampat family
ITRM20010349 D0 2001-06-18 [IT2001RM0349]
ITRM20010349 A1 2002-12-18 [IT2001RM0349]
WO02103257 A1 2002-12-27 [WO2002103257]
AU2002346290 A1 2003-01-02 [AU2002346290]
WO02103257 A8 2003-04-10 [WO2002103257]
EP1397622 A1 2004-03-17 [EP1397622]
WO02103257 A8 2004-04-29 [WO2002103257]
EP1397622 B1 2004-12-01 [EP1397622]
AT284010 T 2004-12-15 [ATE284010]
DE60202142 D1 2005-01-05 [DE60202142]
ES2230504 T3 2005-05-01 [ES2230504]
DE60202142 T2 2005-12-01 [DE60202142]
Fampat family
US2004126594 A1 2004-07-01 [US20040126594]
Transfer to Industry
Transfer to Industry
Transfer to Industry
ARCHIMEDE SOLAR ENERGY (owned by Angelantoni Group)
Industry production facility (about 200 employees)
Principal steps of the tech transfer of the innovation
1) A 1st European Patent (and two subsequent Patents) on oxide-based Cermet materials (one of
the key technology of the receiver tube) was deposited, with technology solution proposed
according to the production and market requirements;
2) Laboratory sputtering pilot plant “ENEA-1” , proprietary design, has been installed in the Enea
laboratories as prototype pilot plant for the production of the receiver tube.
3) The “ENEA-1” sputtering demostration plant was placed at Archimede Solar Energy
(Angeloantoni Group);
4) By using this first demonstration plant Archimede Solar Energy supplied the first hundreds of
receiver tubes for “Archimede” ENEL power station sited in Priolo Gargallo (SC), i.e. the test
field with real operating conditions.
5) A 2nd PCT Patent on nitride-based Cermet materials was deposited (high temperature solar
coating with higher deposition rate and lower cost with respect to the previous Enea patented
coating) and finalized in different world countries.
6) A Laboratory sputtering pilot plant “ENEA-2”, proprietary design, used for R&D on spectrally
selective coating for receiver tubes (an experimental machine with high flexibility) was installed
in Enea Lab with manufacturing functional approach equivalent to the production plants .
7) ENEA has developed the concept design of the sputtering apparatus, 75 meters long, with a
production capacity of 70.000 receiver tubes/year, both for high and medium temperature
employment, built in the ASE production facility.
8) On the 14th September 2011, Archimede Solar Energy opened in Massa Martana (Perugia) a
new manufacturing plant.
Main TT factors of this practise:
- Research to market (push approach)
- Patenting and “industrial secret” – commissioned research for know-how
- 12 years of life cycle innovation
- Funding: public for research, public-private LAB for piloting, private for
exploitation
- Involvements of industrial suppliers companies
- Innovation in products and processes design
- Prototype of production line in lab >> testing in collaboration with
companies >> transfer of prototype >> new prototype in lab >> transfer of
production line apparatus
- Management: decentralized technical – centralized TT and policy
- Verification and support of follow up (income, strategy etc)
COMPANY-RTO STRONG COLLABORATION FROM THE FIRST STEPS !!
Conclusions
Thank you for your attention!
www.enea.it
Acknowledgments
Special Thanks to:
Augusto Maccari
Archimede Solar Energy (ASE)
