Gonvarri hits a milestone with the deployment of the structure for Biostirling-4SKA

· The concentrated solar dish for Stirling engine, with hybridization through gas and storage by batteries, overcomes one of the renewables limitation; powering systems in a 24 hours, 7 days per week.

· SKA (Square Kilometre Array) is an international project by 20 countries for the construction of the largest radiotelescope to carry out the next generation of Universe exploring.

Gonvarri Metal Structures, division of Gonvarri Steel Services, by the beginning of last August, deployed next to Moura (Portugal) the structure for the first prototype of the project Biostirling-4SKA. The demo phase of this project is to power an isolated and offgrid system like the SKA antennas, where some of them will be settled close to Biostirling-4SKA location.

Gonvarri Metal Structures is leading an R&D European Consortium by 13 companies for the project Biostirling-4SKA. Biostirling-4SKA is a cost effective and efficient approach for a new generation of solar dish-Stirling plants based on storage and hybridization.

Biostirling-4SKA is focused on the designing and construction of a concentrated solar dish for Stirling engine with hybridization through gas and power storage by batteries for overpassing one of the renewables limitation; powering systems in a 24 hours, 7 days/week off grid and isolated condition like the SKA (Square Kilometer Array), the demonstrator of Biostirling technology.

The structure and the tracking system for the concentrated solar dish has been engineered and manufactured by Gonvarri Metal Structures. The tracking system is 0.001 radian accurate in compliance with the engine manufacturer restrictions. Mirrors are parabolic shape disposed for the concentration of solar radiation of 40 sqm up to 10 cm diameter circle for reaching over 500ºC on focus point for powering the Stirling engine.

The engine hybridization with gas is the next step covered by this project. Through the hybridization, the system is able to keep the power supplied constant when the solar radiation decreases or even during the night. The structure and the tracking system were validated in Moura and the in further stages of the project, partners will integrate the whole system, i.e. mirrors, engine, storing, control…

The Biostirling demonstrator, the SKA, is an international project by 20 countries for the construction of the largest radiotelescope ever thought for the next generation of Universe exploring. The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is an international project to build a radio telescope tens of times more sensitive and hundreds of times faster at mapping the sky than today’s best radio astronomy facilities. It will produce 160 terabytes of raw data per second that the supercomputers will need to handle. That’s the equivalent of more than 35,000 DVDs every second.

SKA has the potential for a revolution in the Universe exploring. One of its associated challenges is the power supply; avoiding electronic interferences need the antennas to be installed in isolated and remote locations. As the SKA as reference, Biostirling will have a great potential in other applications as its attributes for an uninterrupted and offgrid power supply.  

About Gonvarri Steel Services

Gonvarri Steel Services (www.gonvarristeelservices.com), is a leading company in steel service centers that reached a revenue of more than 2,300 million euros in 2015, selling more than 3.7 million steel tons. Its strategy around the steel transformation business is based on the development of products and services with great value added, which allows to establish closer relations with its main clients through its six business lines: automotive, road safety, energy, storage, mecano and industry. Gonvarri Steel Services counts with 30 service centers in 15 countries.