Zhejiang Sanhua signed an agreement on Tuesday to invest $10.5 million in solar thermal systems developer HelioFocus, marking the first direct investment by a Chinese company in an Israeli firm. HelioFocus Chief Executive Uri Zik said Sanhua, a producer of components and control parts for air-conditioning systems, would be not just a financial investor in the company, but will also produce some solar thermal components.
IC Green Energy, the renewable energy investment arm of holding company Israel Corp (ILCO.TA), is the largest shareholder in HelioFocus with a 40 percent stake. It will invest $2.3 million in HelioFocus alongside Sanhua’s investment.
Sanhua, which will hold 30 percent of HelioFocus, will invest $9.25 million directly in the company and will acquire $1.25 million worth of shares from its founders.The rest of HelioFocus, which was founded in 2007 and has raised over $20 million, is held by workers and management.
“We believe that the thermo-solar market will grow significantly, together with the rapid global development and ongoing legislation in the clean energy market,” Yom Tov Samia, chairman of HelioFocus and president and CEO of IC Green Energy, said in a statement.
“We will be able to reduce costs and move relatively quickly to manufacturing,” Zik told Reuters. “Components that can be made at lower cost in China will be produced there.”
| Modular High Efficiency Solar ThermalHelioFocus is a leader in high-efficiency modular solar thermal systems. The company focuses on the repowering market where it develops turn-key equipment to boost existing power plants, mainly coal fired and combined cycle plants. This market, estimated as $3B in the US southwest, allows the company to establish its breakthrough technology without reliance on project finance.HelioFocus HS-100 product, is based on a large, low cost, parabolic dish concentrator that focuses light onto a receiver that heats air to the temperature and pressure specification of microturbines. The waste heat of the turbine is used to produce high quality steam that is fed into the steam cycle of existing power plants.HelioFocus solar power system combines the highest optical and thermal efficiencies. The system is composed of a large parabolic dish which concentrates sunlight onto a proprietary receiver that feeds a turbo generator. The technology is the result of 15 years of research at the Weizmann Institute of Science and is exclusively licensed to HelioFocus.
The elevated efficiency is achieved by HelioFocus proprietary high temperature solar receiver that enables a working temperature of 1,000°C, leading to high thermal efficiency and consequently low cost. |
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Source: Rueters , and Heliofocus
Tags: renewable energy, renewable power, solar power, solar thermal, Solar Thermal Energy Technology Type, thermal solar
