Brayton Energy's conceptual design for a large scale high temperature direct sCO2 receiver includes a novel use of quartz tubes to reduce radiant and convective losses and is projected to achieve greater than 90% efficiency.

Partnering with EERE, Brayton Energy is designing, building, and testing a new solar receiver for an advanced concentrating solar power (CSP) system. The receiver uses supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) as its working fluid rather than molten salt or steam, on which today’s state-of-the-art CSP systems rely. The Brayton Energy design enables the use of low-cost materials and simplified manufacturing methods, leading to increased durability of the CSP plant. The advanced receiver withstands higher operating temperatures and pressures than existing technologies. This enables the sCO2 working fluid to circulate directly from the receiver into new sCO2 power turbines for higher efficiency, and reduced cost compared with baseline receivers and steam Rankine turbines.

The Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) focuses on achieving the goals of the SunShot Initiative, which seeks to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of electricity by the end of the decade.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) success stories highlight the positive impact of its work with businesses, industry partners, universities, research labs, and other entities.