The startup says its HelioHeat technology can create extreme heat — 1,000 degrees Celsius, or about a quarter of what’s found on the surface of the sun. That’s the kind of heat required to make cement, steel and in other industrial processes like mining that typically rely on fossil fuels to power their operations.
“It’s not that this technology was not possible before — just that it was not cost-effective,” Heliogen founder and CEO Bill Gross told CNN Business in an email. “Heliogen’s breakthrough is to make concentrated solar energy work after the sun goes down AND be cost effective compared to fossil fuel at the same time.”
The companies say the partnership will allow Rio Tinto to cut its carbon footprint — while simultaneously slashing its energy costs.
“Our goal is to deliver completely carbon free energy to Rio Tinto for less than the cost of fossil fuels and with zero emission,” Gross said.
Bringing carbon-free energy to nearly-century-old mine
Heliogen, backed by Gates and biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, emerged from stealth mode in late 2019 by announcing a solar breakthrough. For the first time, concentrated solar energy could be used to replace fossil fuels used in industrial processes. Last year, Time magazine named Heliogen’s HelioHeat technology on its list of Best Inventions of 2020.
Now, Heliogen is teaming up with Rio Tinto on putting that technology to use.
Rio Tinto plans to use the Heliogen platform to help power the nearly-century-old California site, which mines borates, a mineral used in fertilizer, heat-resistant glass for smartphones and laptops, solar arrays and wind turbines. The mine, located in Boron, supplies almost half of the world’s demaned for refined borates, according to Rio Tinto.
Normally, the facility relies on fossil fuels to make steam. But the partnership calls for Heliogen’s AI-powered field of mirrors to generate 35,000 pounds per hour of…
Read More: Bill Gates-backed solar startup is bringing carbon-free power to the mining