Descripción del proyecto
Reflectores solares orbitales ultraligeros para unos mejores servicios mundiales de energía limpia
Ofrecer servicios de energía limpia representa un importante reto de ingeniería para el siglo actual. Por este motivo, el proyecto financiado con fondos europeos SOLSPACE busca desarrollar y demostrar una nueva estrategia para mejorar el suministro mundial de servicios de energía limpia. Para lograrlo se utilizarán reflectores solares orbitales ultraligeros. Una constelación de reflectores iluminará grandes plantas terrestres de energía solar, centrándose en los momentos del día en que la producción es baja, pero la demanda energética y los picos de precios son elevados. Al demostrar las oportunidades que ofrecen los reflectores solares orbitales, el proyecto contribuirá a acelerar el uso de servicios mundiales de energía limpia en el siglo XXI.
Objetivo
The delivery of global clean energy services is arguably the preeminent engineering grand challenge for the 21st century. Indeed, it is clear that the unprecedented scale and pace of this challenge will require daring and disruptive new thinking. This project will devise, develop and demonstrate an adventurous strategy to enhance the delivery of global clean energy services using ultra-lightweight orbiting solar reflectors. The strategy will utilise a constellation of reflectors to illuminate large terrestrial solar power plants, particularly at dawn and dusk, when their output is low but electricity demand and spot prices are high.
First, we will devise new families of orbits for constellations of reflectors by leveraging solar radiation pressure perturbations. Then, we will develop novel pointing and attitude control strategies by integrating actuators into the structure and membrane of the reflectors themselves. As a key breakthrough, we will devise and demonstrate in the laboratory new processes to enable the automated in-orbit fabrication of large gossamer reflectors. This will overcome the launch vehicle vibration loads imposed on deployable reflectors and payload faring volume constraints. In parallel, impacts on the global energy economy will be assessed and optimised, as will issues such as the suppression of stray light, policy and regulation.
The overarching goal of the project is to demonstrate, in simulation and hardware, the immense opportunities of utilising orbiting solar reflectors to accelerate the delivery of global clean energy services into the 21st century. Such technology represents a step-change for the space sector, from the delivery of information-based data services to the delivery of physical resources. Importantly, it represents an opportunity to demonstrate bold and imaginative new ways of meeting the energy grand challenges of the future.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantInstitución de acogida
G12 8QQ Glasgow
Reino Unido