One of the new bladed receivers at Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Testing Facility. (Photo by Randy Montoya)

Sandia National Laboratories engineers have developed new fractal-like, concentrating solar power receivers for small- to medium-scale use that are up to 20 percent more effective at absorbing sunlight than current technology.

The receivers withstand high temperatures and pressures while absorbing sunlight as heat that can be stored or transferred to a power cycle to generate electricity. The receiver designs have increased solar absorption efficiency without the need for special coatings.

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