About
The IWG on Solar Thermal Technologies (STT) is established by the SET Plan Steering Group (SG) to support the implementation of the SET Plan in this technology area and to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative solar thermal solutions across Europe.
These technologies harness solar energy to generate thermal energy at various temperature levels, enabling cost-effective and sustainable heat as well as its conversion into power, cooling or renewable fuels/commodities.
Scope
The scope of the IWG encompasses all STT – both concentrated (CST) and non-concentrated (NCST) – covering the full spectrum of market-ready and emerging applications.
STT are used across a wide range of temperature levels and benefit from thermal energy storage (TES) providing flexible and dispatchable renewable energy solutions to serve several common applications, including power generation with Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants or with photovoltaic thermal (PVT) hybrid solar collectors, solar heat for industrial processes (SHIP), district heating and cooling, decarbonisation of heating and cooling needs in buildings, as well as water desalination and purification when thermal processes are involved.
In addition to these common applications, certain uses are specific to CST technologies, such as hydrogen and solar fuels production, and the thermochemical production of raw materials.
Scope structure
The work on STT is supported by the coordination and support action STT4SET, which is focused on the reinforcement of stakeholder networks within the SET Plan community, with a particular focus on enhancing the connections of CST and NCST with other relevant technology areas, fostering cross-sector integration and strengthening European industrial leadership.
This will be pursued by combining R&I, industry/market and policy perspectives related to the deployment of STT in Europe. This includes their hybridisation, integration and synergies with other technologies, as well as research challenges related to electricity, industrial heat and district heating.
Targets and objective
The technology is driven by the need for decarbonisation of heating and cooling demand (across buildings, industry and district energy systems), while strengthening Europe's energy security, industrial competitiveness, system flexibility and resilience.
By 2030, the STT IWG aims to accelerate market uptake and demonstrate bankable solutions across diverse applications. Key targets include:
- reducing SHIP costs below 2.5 c€/kWh for temperatures lower than 200 °C and below 3 c€/kWh for temperatures higher than 200 °C
- electricity costs from CSP below 10 c€/kWh
- next generation CSP power cycle reaching at least 42.4 % overall efficiency
- 15% reduction in NCST manufacturing costs, while increasing solar fraction for industrial processes, district heating networks and directly in buildings through net-zero energy buildings (NZEB).
By 2040, STT is envisioned to evolve into system-critical infrastructure with multi-GW CSP deployment in Southern Europe, widespread use of SHIP and district heating and cooling, strong EU manufacturing base, standardised and bankable system designs, fully AI-supported operation, and deployment of integrated STT solutions in buildings. Respective targets foresee:
- further cost reduction for SHIP applications below 2 c€/kWh for temperatures higher than 300 °C
- dispatchable electricity costs below 7 c€/kWh.
By 2050, STT will serve as a core pillar of a climate-neutral, competitive and resilient European energy system, fully integrated into technology-neutral energy markets based on system value, supplying direct solar heat across buildings, district heating and industry, alongside deca-GW scale of CSP electricity, and commercial-scale green hydrogen and/or other solar fuels/chemicals/commodities.
IWG members
Participating SET Plan countries (in alphabetical order):
| Countries | Membership |
| Austria | Active member |
| Cyprus | Active member |
| France | Active member |
| Germany | Active member |
| Italy | Active member |
| Latvia | Temporary observer |
| Malta | Temporary observer |
| Portugal | Temporary observer |
| Slovenia | Active member |
| Spain | Co-chair |
Other Stakeholders involved in IWG-STT
Documents
Relevant links
- Horizon STE – completed
- CST4ALL
- CSP ERANET
- ESTELA Solar
Contacts
IWG Chair:
- Cristina Trueba: cristina [dot] trueba
ciencia [dot] gob [dot] es (cristina[dot]trueba[at]ciencia[dot]gob[dot]es) - Luisa Revilla: luisa [dot] revillacdti [dot] es (luisa[dot]revilla[at]cdti[dot]es)
- Aránzazu Fernandez: arantxa [dot] fernandezpsa [dot] es (arantxa[dot]fernandez[at]psa[dot]es)
- Jesús Pulido: jpulidomiteco [dot] es (jpulido[at]miteco[dot]es)
STT4SET CSA:
- Daniel Benitez: Daniel [dot] Benitezdlr [dot] de (Daniel[dot]Benitez[at]dlr[dot]de)
LPO:
- Marina Montero Carrero: marina [dot] montero-carreroec [dot] europa [dot] eu (marina[dot]montero-carrero[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)