External compound parabolic concentrator (XCPC) for decarbonizing industrial processing heat

The external compound parabolic concentrator (XCPC) is an emerging solar thermal technology which combines nonimaging optics and metal-glass vacuum tube technology to provide high operating temperatures from a stationary collector. In this paper we describe the technology and detail the latest performance of a 50 m² solar field operating the following loads: space heating (70 °C), wastewater evaporation (150 °C), and double-effect absorption cooling (180 °C).