SunShot Project, UC San Diego

AWARD YEAR

2015

CATEGORY

Community

GOALS

Affordable & Clean Energy

KEYWORDS

solar power, energy, efficiency

COUNTRY

United States of America

DESIGNED BY

Multidisciplinary Engineering Team, University of California San Diego Sungho Jin, Professor Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Zhaowei Liu, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Renkun Chen, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

WEBSITE

http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/pressrelease/new_solar_power_material_converts_90_percent_of_captured_light_into_heat

SunShot Project, UC San Diego

Nanoparticle-based material to absorb and covert 90% of captured sunlight to energy.

SunShot has developed a material that absorbs sunlight with 90% efficiency for use in concentrated solar powered steam generated electricity. By heating molten salt, the heat can be stored for continuous electricity generation. The efficiency and durability of the SunShot material means more efficient power generation with a smaller foot print, and lower cost. The more we can replace coal-fired power plants, the better for our future environment.