Jan 10 2008
nCoat, Inc. has announced the signing of an agreement for business collaboration and commercial product development with Sunvention USA, Inc. and BSR Solar Technologies GmbH using nCoat nanotechnology coatings in a Concentrated Solar Thermal Power (CSP) system to concentrate the solar radiation and create highly efficient heat absorption and retention in the heat collection element. nCoat coatings will also be used to protect solar "Green Energy" systems developed and built by SV-US and BSR.
"Thermal absorption and transfer coatings used in solar energy production is a new market segment for nCoat," said Paul Clayson, CEO of nCoat, Inc. "Combining our nanotechnology coatings products and experience with commercialization of solar energy systems positions nCoat to capture revenue at the leading edge of the projected exponential market expansion. Since our coatings are known world-wide as state-of-the-art in market ready nano materials, we are being sought by other technology players to commercialize products with them."
In collaboration with BSR technologies (located in Lörrach, Germany), SV-US is creating a working Solar Power Village on site at its Greencastle, Indiana facilities. The core patented technology of the village is an Envelope Power Greenhouse ("EPG") housing optical solar CSP systems mounted in the greenhouse roof which concentrates the energy of the sun 80 to 100 times into the solar collector system, generating electricity by converting solar radiation captured in a heat receptor into electrons. The heat generated then rapidly heats inert vegetable oil to 200°C and transports the oil to a tank outside the greenhouse. The hot oil transfers thermal energy to practical uses including heat for cooking and housing, heat energy to drive a proprietary Stirling (closed-cycle, heat driven) engine to operate water pumps, mill grain and to generate electric power.
The BSR/SV-US technologies can scale from a single residence or commercial site to large scale operations. Envelope Power Greenhouses can be constructed solely for power production or for joint applications to include plant growth.
Under the terms of the agreement, nCoat will provide thermal and corrosion management coatings for BSR/SV-US technologies and will collaborate on innovations to create more efficient thermal capture and transfer of the sun's radiant light to thermal energy production and distribution. nCoat will supply both low emissivity (thermal capture) and high emissivity (thermal transfer) coatings to help enable the solar Green Energy systems.
"After 4 years and nearly 15 million dollars in development, our technologies are now fully operational and moving to commercial development," said Dr. C. William Arrington, Co-Chairman of Sunvention USA. "nCoat coatings will play a significant role in the success of the thermal management process of our systems."