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CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER. Latest published applications 2017-2019. Linear Fresnel Reflector
Summary
Solar power plants based on Linear Fresnel reflector (LFC) technology are similar to Parabolic Trough systems with the difference in the way the sun radiation is tracked. LFC technology uses a series of individual flat or slightly curved ground-mounted mirrors to focus sunlight onto a fluid-carrying receiver tube that is fixed above them. Although the trough-based system is recognized as a benchmark technology that has shown commercially profitable results over many years in a variety of applications, the Fresnel system is rightly considered an alternative with several advantages. The benefits of Fresnel collectors are primarily due to their constructive simplicity and wide range of possible configurations. For example, the fixed design of the receiver offers great flexibility in the selection of the heat transfer medium, which can easily be adjusted to water, oil, steam or molten salt, depending on the target temperature. The LFC system also enables individual control of each mirror, as well as effectively reconfiguring the reflector to maximize its performance. In addition, Fresnel solar fields allow more efficient use of space, offering the lowest land occupancy than any other type of CSP. The patent applications presented in this bulletin address current challenges in this area highlighting novel designs and developments.
The present bulletin reviews patent applications registered by patent offices around the globe in 2017-2019 in the field related to the subject of Linear Fresnel Reflector in Concentrated Solar Power. General research methodology can be found on the Advanced Energy Technologies website. 360 patent documents from 24 patent offices around the world are represented in the bulletin. In total, 176 applicants from 23 countries and 337 subgroups of the International Patent Classification are mentioned.
Key Highlights
Statistical information presented in the bulletin includes distribution of patent documents by years, by patent offices and by applicant countries, applicant-related data (residents and non-residents), and data on the most frequently mentioned International Patent Classification divisions (sections, classes, subclasses, groups, and subgroups). The largest number of applications during the period of time under revision was registered by the patent office of China.
For each of the patent documents selected for the examination in the present bulletin the characteristics of unified indicators were preliminary defined, they include: technical problems, types of inventive solutions employed, belonging to one or other technological segment. This allows the internal content for each of the indicators in the aggregate array of documents to be vizualized, for instance, to define the sequence and proportional correlation of technical problems the inventive solutions disclosed in the texts aim to solve. A list of the top 10 groups consisting of patent documents with identical unified indicators contains ID numbers and applicant names of respective documents; the groups are sorted by the number of patent documents.
A list of the top 10 applicants by the number of patent documents includes Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (France), BASF, SE (Germany), Glasspoint Solar, Inc. (USA), Aurelia Turbines Oy (Finland), Siemens Concentrated Solar Power, Ltd. (Israel), Wacker Chemie AG (Germany), Rioglass Solar, S.A. (Spain), Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V. (Germany), Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) (Germany), Erfis Gmbh (Germany). Data representing the share in the established intellectual property market, distribution of applications by problems, IPC sections, patent offices and technology indicators is provided in the form of tables and diagrams for them.
The prominent documents pages contain the top 10 patent applications with the highest bibliographical rating, the most extensive coverage of IPC sections, and those not being a part of patent family.
The conclusive part of the bulletin represents the lists of all of the documents reviewed, arranged by the top 10 groups of patent documents with identical unified indicators and by patent offices with the indication of the ID numbers of the registered patent applications.
Who needs this bulletin?
The statistics bulletin under examination serves as one of the variants to monitor advanced technical achievements in the specified industrial sector. The statistical data, rating evaluations and carefully selected patent documents provided in the bulletin can be of interest for inventors, students and educators, engineers, as well as for businessmen and investors, who in one way or another are concerned with the problems of the development of solar energy production technologies.
