Congratulations to the three winners of the Heliostat Prize, each of which has been awarded a $300,000 cash prize for accelerating heliostat technology through the design, development, and demonstration of selected components that drive their cost and performance. 

The following teams have been selected as Heliostat Prize winners (in alphabetical order): 

  • KVA Technologies (Borrego Springs, CA): Lightweight High Strength Martensitic Structures

    This team used lightweight, high-strength structures made with chromium steel containing no nickel to replace the standard steel heliostat structure. The improved design could reduce heliostat costs while increasing durability and strength.

  • Multiscale Systems (Worcester, MA): Thermoplastic Composite Heliostat Structures

    This team developed a novel heliostat facet using thermoplastic composite in a sandwich-type design. The composite panels contain high-fiber content for added strength and protective additives for weatherability.

  • Solar Dynamics (Broomfield, CO): DREAM: Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) Redesign for Economical American Manufacturing

    This team developed a DFMA-optimized version of their novel SunRing heliostat that merged simple high-volume component manufacturing, advanced automotive joining technologies, and containerized automated assembly cells. By eliminating welding, tight part tolerances, and on-site manual labor, this next-generation SunRing could enable lower-cost manufacturing of U.S heliostats.

These teams were selected as winners after successfully competing in the third and final phase of the Heliostat Prize, the Assess Contest. The Assess Contest is the final design, prototyping, and testing of the teams’ heliostat components that were conceptualized during the previous Design Contest. Specific goals included: 

  • Build prototypes or partial prototypes to be used as a test article (proof of concept) or for risk reduction. 
  • Test the prototypes or partial prototypes to validate the design. 
  • Refine the design as required based on the testing results. 

Additionally, these winning teams identified committed partners that demonstrated commercial viability and used continual customer and stakeholder feedback to substantially advance their solution from proof of concept to prototype.

The Heliostat Prize winners are supporting the U.S. Department of Energy’s mission by growing the industrial sector with low-cost, turnkey, U.S.-manufactured solar-thermal systems. Congratulations to KVA Technologies, Multiscale Systems, and Solar Dynamics for winning the Heliostat Prize!