Although when we generally talk about "solar energy", we think of photovoltaic panels, but this is not the only use of solar energy. If the sunlight can be focused to one place through the reflector, it can also achieve the effect called "Solar Furnace", heating the focused place to a very high temperature. Some solar power plants actually use sunlight to directly heat water to generate water vapor to generate electricity. However, it is difficult to control the focus point very densely. So far, the highest output temperature is only about 565 degrees Celsius. It is sufficient, but it cannot be used for many high-temperature industrial chemical reactions.

One is named Heliogen, and the owner behind it is Bill. Gates’ solar technology company recently broke this point, using computer vision to guide the reflector to concentrate the light, breaking the upper limit of temperature to 1,000 degrees Celsius in one fell swoop. This allows the process of cement preparation and part of steelmaking to be taken over by solar furnaces without the need for fossil fuels. Gates pointed out in a press release that heavy industry currently accounts for 20% of carbon emissions. If solar energy can be used to replace part of the industrial process, carbon emissions can be significantly reduced. From another point of view, can this also make the deserts of the originally barren land suddenly become a new industrial town?

However, like many technologies, there is still a huge gap between obtaining "empirical" and investing in "practical". It may take a long time to see the factories built around this new solar furnace. On the other hand, Heliogen is also continuing to refine its technology, with the goal of reaching 1,500 degrees Celsius-at such a temperature, hydrogen and synthesis gas can be directly produced, and a variety of organic petrochemical raw materials can be further prepared from synthesis gas, reducing the source Our dependence on oil and coal.

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资料来源：https://chinese.engadget.com/chinese-2019-11-20-heliogen-solar-concentrator-breakthrough.html