About the project
PRINCESS aims to develop innovative and high-performance components for next-generation Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) tower plants, supporting the European clean energy transition. The project focuses on the design, manufacturing, and validation of advanced air-based solar receivers and compact air-to-supercritical CO2 heat exchangers capable of operating at temperatures above 700 °C. By integrating Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) structures enabled by additive manufacturing, PRINCESS seeks to enhance heat transfer efficiency, reduce thermal stresses, and improve component durability while limiting pressure losses. Through numerical modelling, experimental testing in relevant environments, and techno-economic and environmental assessments, the project aims to improve the efficiency, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness of CSP technologies, enabling more competitive, dispatchable, and zero-emission solar power solutions in Europe.
The large-scale deployment of CSP in Europe is currently limited by technological and economic barriers related to operating temperature, component efficiency, and system complexity. State-of-the-art CSP tower plants mainly rely on molten salts as heat transfer fluids, which impose temperature limits and increase costs and environmental constraints. These limitations prevent the adoption of more efficient power cycles and reduce the competitiveness of CSP compared to other renewable technologies.
PRINCESS addresses these challenges by enabling high-temperature CSP operation using air as heat transfer fluid and by introducing innovative solar receivers and heat exchangers based on TPMS architectures. This approach goes beyond the state of the art by improving heat transfer performance while maintaining compactness, mechanical robustness, and low pressure losses. By combining advanced design, additive manufacturing, experimental validation, and techno-economic and environmental assessment, PRINCESS provides a scalable and sustainable pathway to more efficient, dispatchable, and cost-effective solar power technologies for the European clean energy transition.
PRINCESS is expected to deliver TPMS-based solar receiver and air-to-sCO2 heat exchanger modules that will be experimentally validated within the project duration, operating at temperatures up to 800 °C. The results will demonstrate significantly enhanced convective heat transfer, reduced component wall temperatures, and limited pressure losses compared to state-of-the-art solutions. These advances will enable more compact, durable, and cost-effective CSP components compatible with high-efficiency sCO2 power cycles. At system level, the project is expected to contribute to reduced levelized cost of electricity, improved plant efficiency, and extended component lifetime. The generated knowledge on TPMS thermo-fluid dynamics, additive manufacturing feasibility, and lifecycle performance will support industrial scale-up, strengthen European leadership in advanced CSP technologies, and contribute to decarbonisation of power generation.